


Phoenix

by Pinklove21



Series: Any Means Necessary Series [3]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Blackmail, Captivity, Character Death, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Implied Torture, Loss, Love, Plans, Psychological Torture, Unrequited Love, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-23 23:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 135,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/627682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinklove21/pseuds/Pinklove21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And here it is, the trequel to Any Means Necessary and Born Of Fire! A rebellion's brewing finally after all this time! Can Panem be set ablaze with rebellious spirit and a new nation rise from the ashes?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Numbers

Katniss's POV

2,043-The amount of District 12 survivors out of the original 8,000 or so who are still alive. The Capitol retaliated for Kennie's breakout of the arena. They took it out on our district with fire (the irony not lost on me) and these are the people that none other than twenty two year old Rory Hawthorne lead out into the woods to safety as soon as the plan had gone awry on the screens. He led them to the lake house where Prim had already brought all her medical supplies and Rory had brought all of our hunting gear. They knew this would happen and saved a fourth of the population. It's not enough to feel good about because that would have been everyone, but it's something. I feel somehow responsible for those 6,000 odd deaths.

1,576- The number of soldiers that District 13 has made soldiers from District 12 survivors, including those who have 'died' over the last eight odd years or so and risen in the ranks, preparing for a war. A rebellion to end Panem as it stands now. 1,577 if you include me-which I don't. I'm apparently not stable enough to be a real soldier yet. Not after last month where I tried to rip to shreds the not so dead coward Haymitch with my fingernails and now I have a pretty little mentally unstable bracelet on the same wrist as my stupid tattooed schedule every day. It's not like I really follow it anyway though I make sure Kennie follows her. At least they haven't dared to take her away from me. If they did I might actually go insane. Like Annie Cresta, who is currently in some unknown floor to me screaming her head off because of her sadness and pain like the mad girl she has become. I can relate but I don't go there for Kennie's sake.

112-The number of District 7 survivors after an unpredicted retaliation from the Capitol a day after District 12's demise as payback for the part that Johanna evidently played in the breakout and the rebellion. There were more than 15,000 people living in District 7. Around that many people died, the forests of trees and villages set aflame and destroyed the entire district, leaving a very few starving to death and many injured before District 13 came to rescue survivors 3 days later. Johanna had no one left she loved to punish but the Capitol thought that she would feel bad for her district. As the uncaring person she thinks she is she pretends not to care but I do. I can't help but feel I was responsible for all of them too. Now I'm part of the complete destruction of not one but two districts. Too bad that there's literally nothing I can do to reverse that now.

38- The number of days it has been since I was taken out of the Capitol, where they drugged me to get me out while I thought that my daughter was dead. The same amount of mornings that I curse myself for becoming my mother after my father died and becoming a zombie of sorts. I hate her for giving me that. I hate myself for being like that. I hate them for tricking me into that state even if it was for the rebellion which I fully believe is the only way for a better Panem even if I don't exactly agree with all their plans or anything.

17- The amount of times which they have stupidly asked me, pleaded with me, tried to reason with me to allow Makenna, a seven year old girl, to be the symbol of the rebellion. The Phoenix.

17- The number of meetings which I absolutely refused and walked out of there believing they were all incredibly idiotic for even asking.

3-The number of tributes that District 13 picked up and saved when they were supposed to get everyone. Albert, Beetee's now eleven year old nephew who excitedly helps out his uncle with whatever it is Beetee does in the Weaponry and Special Intelligence room when he's not in class. Johanna, the ever bitter and now pissed woman (if you can call her that) who hates them all almost as much as I do for not saving everyone, including her best friend. And of course, Makenna, who is currently her curious self and explores District 13 sometimes when she's supposed to be in class. Sometimes she's found by Prim or Hazelle or even Haymitch and sent back to class with a mild scolding. One occasion Johanna found her and decided that she would take her outside much to the soldiers of District 13's annoyance, who stopped them before they could get to the gate. A few times she's found me hiding in a closet or something and just curls up to my side as I hold her to me, grateful for her presence that keeps me mostly sane.

3-The number of tributes which the Capitol captured, the ones who weren't saved from Snow's evil grasp. The ones who aren't safe at all. Cashmere, who really didn't know anything at all of what was going on and is probably fine. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she's not in custody if she's even still in the Capitol at all. Finnick, who according to Johanna knew far too much and she's actually worried sick about what they're certainly doing to him. Torture for information of which he has plenty. 'Mindfucking' as she calls it to make him say anything, probably threatening that they have Annie or someone else he loves to get him to say something without the physical torture. I do feel horrible about Finnick being captured, especially after all he's already gone through and that he tried his best to save Kennie in the Games. He accomplished that but at a very heady price.

And they have Gale. I can't even think about what they're doing to him. I don't want to think about it but it haunts my nightmares, creeps into almost every thought I have every waking hour of the day. It pains me that he's probably in pain even though he knows nothing more than I did, which is absolutely no information. They'd do it just to screw with my mind and I hate to say that if that's their goal it's working. Kennie is literally the only thing that helps me from thinking about him too much in captivity by them because she's the only thing I have left right now that's a part of him. For all I know he could be dead and somehow I don't want to know.

1-The number of things today that I'm actually going to follow from my stupid wrist schedule today. Command at 1300 hours. I suspected that it was another pointless meeting where they tried to get me to allow Kennie to be their stupid Phoenix before offering the job to me (which I also refuse every time) but Johanna heard from her 'source' (whoever that is) that it's an interview with Ceaser Flickerman. The only reason I'm actually going to go is that I know an interview wouldn't be with him unless it was something flashy and important, and for some reason I have a feeling that means Gale. I have to see him, even if it's through a screen. I need to watch him, read him, look at him to figure out exactly what they're doing to him. And even if I'm wrong it would probably be good to know what's going on anyway.

After wandering around District 13's underground halls all morning I go to lunch at the scheduled time on my wrist, scanning it for my carefully measured out meal of a bowl of some type of vegetable stew (I think squash), a thin piece of bread, and a cup of water. After getting my tray of what seems like such a meager meal after having all I could ever eat for ten years I sit down at our assigned table. Even if it is such a little amount of food I have trouble finishing it somehow, and when I'm just staring at the rest of my bread for around five minutes I snap out of my daze when a hand grabs it.

"Hey, that's mine." I protest with a frown to the stealer though I'm not actually that mad. Johanna stuffs my bread in her mouth and swallows before rolling her eyes at me with a smirk.

"It's not like you were going to eat it anyway." she states, and I can't say she's wrong so I just shrug. Might as well not let it go to waste-not that anything ever goes to waste in this district. I don't think they even know the meaning of 'extra' here.

"Fair enough." I concede and glance at her. She's sweaty and her hair's in a tight ponytail that looks a little funny with how short her hair is.

"Where have you been?" I finally ask.

"Training. Where you're supposed to have gone you know." Johanna reminds me but I just roll my eyes. I don't want to train. I don't want to be one of their stupid soldiers or follow orders. And honestly, I'm surprised that Johanna wants that.

"Didn't think you'd want to be there either." I mutter and she laughs.

"Where else am I allowed to beat the shit out of people and call it training? It's good for the frustration anyway." she exclaims as she quickly finishes her meal. Well I guess that's part of my problem. The sadness sort of consumes more of my time than the anger at the whole Gale in the Capitol thing while she's all anger that Finnick is there, but I guess she sort of has a point. Maybe I'll actually go to training one of these days…

"Please. You'd do that without calling it training." I predict to which she laughs again with an almost vicious smile.

"So what? At least they can't get too mad at me if it's in training. I'm teaching them to get better so they don't get their asses kicked by a girl." she insists and I have to crack a smile.

"I'm sure that's exactly what they think." I mumble before getting up to go put my tray away.

"Where are you going?" Johanna questions me.

"My schedule says Command." I offer as an explanation and the look she gives me is one of unbelieving that I'm actually going but she gets the point after telling me the information from her 'source.'

"Alright I'll go with you." she declares, getting up with her own tray.

"Is that what you're schedule says?" I ask her suspiciously, thinking she might be going just to see my reaction. Or on the off chance that it's Finnick the interview is with. Or just to piss off everyone in Command (a likely possibility).

In response she snorts, "Like you're one to talk about following schedules." Alright I'll take that as a no to my question. But I don't say so and she follows me out, all the way to Command.

When we walk into the Command center all eyes are on us. Some raise their eyebrows at Johanna's appearance but no one kicks her out and no one says anything about it. I suspect it's because they don't want to be knocked out by her or anything she's so fond of 'practicing.' I take the time to glare at Haymitch who I still refuse to talk to before the woman with a look of slush and seriousness speaks up.

"Soldier Hawthorne, Solider Mason, welcome. The interview is just about to begin." President Coin of District 13 states in an almost monotone voice. I really haven't decided if I like her or not yet. And if she keeps calling me soldier when I haven't even gone to a training one more time I think I'm going to go off on her.

"Soldier Hawthorne?" Coin's voice questions me to get my attention. I look up and realize that I probably zoned out. I really am about to say something about the soldier thing when I catch sight of the television screen to Coin's right and I half freeze before racing over to stand just five feet away from the screen.

Ceaser's hair is still a neon green and even though he is most likely the best television host I've ever seen even Ceaser seems to feel slightly uncomfortable through his smiles and stage demeanor. It might have to do with the person he's currently interviewing, who is decidedly not happy and doesn't look the slightest bit willing to help him out. Finally he's doing an interview the way he's always wanted to and I can't say I blame him.

But all I can truly think at this moment is that Gale's alive and despite where he is, relief washes over me. He looks totally fine, and I can't see any scratches or bruises on him. While his eyes tell me he's tired even through the makeup they undoubtedly put on him, they are as fierce and bold as ever, ready to fight. Maybe they haven't done anything to harm him after all besides a lack of sleep? After all, he couldn't have known anything about the rebellion and maybe they figured that out quickly. While I do absolutely hate that everyone lied to us about the rebellion and everything all these years, I can't help but grudgingly concede that on this account it was probably for the best. Not knowing anything at all might just be what saves Gale.

"So…welcome back." Ceaser finally begins after a silent moment that undoubtly took too long, evidence of his clearly uncomfortable state to do this interview. Gale gives him a smirk and I have to smirk with him. No more Mr. Nice Guy for the Capitol I see.

"Never thought you'd say that to me, now did you?" Gale answers. It's not light and playful, it's serious with a dark undertone how he says it. Well, at least he's not trying to play their games, though I doubt that will help him at all. Though I can't say I'm surprised. More likely than not as soon as he heard about the rebellion he was onboard without anyone asking him to be. He was always the rebel anyway, even long ago when we were just children fighting to keep our families alive outside the district, in our woods.

Ceaser lightly laughs, trying desperately to keep this interview going at his pace even with Gale's not so playing along attitude. "I must admit, I didn't. You said it yourself that you were trying to save your daughter and didn't plan on coming back." Ceaser states. As if Gale needed the reminder.

"You're right. I didn't plan on coming back." Gale concedes. "And while I had nothing to do with it incredulously, Makenna is still safe and sound." Yes she is, right here in District 13. Where they're trying to put her in danger by making her the Phoenix. I wonder what Gale would say to them about it if our positions were reversed, him here and me in the Capitol…what am I thinking, he would probably say yes and do it with her. Anything to stop this horribleness that is Snow's wrath.

"With the rebels." Ceaser reminds him, "Who faked dear Makenna's death and made you feel like you failed. How can you say that was for the best when they made you feel that way?"

I must admit I've been asking myself the same question, but what it really comes down to is that our families and Makenna are safe and that's what matters. "Because it's for the-" Gale begins but his eyes flick quickly to the left of the camera and I can see a slight look of dread and horror in his eyes before he composes himself and turns back to the camera. "It's not for the best. The Capitol knows what's best and the rebels shouldn't have done that to me or anyone else." Gale states in a dry tone. And despite the tone, I'm in shock at his words.

0-the amount of times I would have ever believed that something like that would come out of Gale's mouth. What the hell is going on?

Dr. Calvus's POV

"Welcome Dr. Calvus." President Snow greets me, gesturing for me to take a seat which I do. "Now tell me, how are our patients doing?"

Patients? More like prisoners but I am a doctor and he's the president. If he wants to call the people I'm ordered to torture for information or otherwise patients then so be it. "We're making large strides with Mr. Odair. It appears that while he originally resisted he has an ample amount of information." I inform, handing him a file of the information we have gathered-an impressive amount for sure and I have a feeling he knows more.

He briefly looks at the file before tossing on his desk and folding his hands. "And what of Mr. Hawthorne?"

I try not to groan in frustration. We've gotten absolutely nowhere on the information side with him, and I truly suspect it's because he really does not know anything else. I honestly believe that the rebels kept him mostly in the dark for this very reason. "Nothing more than we had four weeks ago sir." I inform him and he frowns.

"And why is that? Because he's stronger at resisting than Mr. Odair?" he questions me with a hint of annoyance and I try not to gulp. While that may be true because it took almost a week of torturing to get anything out of him while it only took three days for Mr. Odair to start talking, I'm pretty confident that it's all he knew. Very little at that.

"I don't think he has any more information Mr. President. I truly believe that he was mostly not told anything at all on the doings or the facts of the rebellion." I reply, trying to hold in my fear. I'm quite aware from the information courtesy of Mr. Odair that President Snow is no stranger to poisoning Capitolites who anger him or get in his way and I realize he's not happy with my answer. I just hope he realizes the truth of it and doesn't blame me.

"But he still resists, does he not?" President Snow persists, "In the interview shown today he wasn't very convincing though he claimed to be on our side and the country I don't believe is buying it."

I sigh. "That was because the threat we used against him to say those things was encouraging him to rebel even though he had a gun to his head. Clearly the man cares more about the rebellion than his own life."

"But Mr. Hawthorne evidently cares about him after all these years. Use that." he orders.

"We did at first but his encouragement of resistance was not helping. We had to have him removed to another cell on a different floor." I explain.

President Snow sighs, shaking his head. "Very well, you may go back to your work."

I get up quickly to leave but stop when I hear his voice call out for me. "Oh and Dr. Calvus? Make sure that Mr. Hawthorne's days of resistance are numbered."

"Yes sir."


	2. Scare

Katniss's POV

Punch, kick, fwop. Smack, around, ump. Hit, jab, bomp.

Why didn't I ever think about how training could be good for me before? The rhythmic hitting of the punching bag, the running until I exhaust myself, the sweat pouring out of me all distracts me plenty. Johanna was right too, it's definitely good for the anger. And while I thought that my sadness overshadowed the anger, turns out I have plenty of that too. All I have to do is picture someone's face on that punching bag and I'm on fire, my muscles tensing and hitting with all I have to take out my anger on this inanimate object.

I picture Haymitch sometimes, and since he's so near here the picture I have to work with is very detailed, included with the scratches on his face that have since faded and healed from when I woke up in 13 for the first time. Sometimes I picture all those people who lied to me for years about the rebellion, in my own childish way getting back at them for that without them even knowing. Sometimes I picture those idiots in Command who are still trying to get me to allow Makenna to be their stupid symbol. Honestly I'm surprised that they haven't just bypassed me and asked her themselves, but I guess they realize she's not going to get very far into their planning without me figuring it out. But mostly I picture Snow and his ugly face with puffy lips and snake eyes, and sometimes I can swear that I smell is horrible scent of blood and roses when I hit the stupid thing for all it's worth. Once I was hitting it so hard that the bag almost swung around and the chain holding it up came loose, the punching bag dropping to the ground. If only that was really Snow.

After a few more minutes of punching 'Snow' the class that I'm currently at the workout station with is called out to go to the next class whatever that is, but I continue to punch, ignoring everyone else leaving. I was just being stubborn at first and I thought that they didn't do anything to make me leave because of that stupid mentally unstable bracelet on my wrist, but that came off a few days after I started actually going to training and still they said nothing. I commented about it to Johanna at lunch one day and she just laughed, telling me that they were scared of me because I was a Victor. I looked at her funny because I don't think I'm very scary at all, even if that excuse would probably work for her. Or just the fact that she's Johanna Mason. But one day when I was at the punching bag I caught sight of my face in the mirror and even I had to admit that I looked…well not so friendly. Maybe she was right.

Today I stay 'punching' all the people who are still trying to get me to let Kennie be the Phoenix, as yesterday they had yet another meeting with me. You would think by now they would give up. If I hadn't said yes to their same arguments over and over the first seventeen times what makes them think that I would the eighteenth? They have persistency, got to give them that. Maybe they're just waiting for me to get so annoyed that I'll just say yes to shut them up. It really is annoying me but just the thought of Kennie in battle stops all thoughts of annoyance and makes me angry and fearful to make up for it so I know I'll still win this. I decide to leave when the next class comes in and I'm happy to say that I have dinner next, but first I take a quick shower just because I don't like all the hot sticky humid sweat clinging to me all day. It's September but apparently where District 13 is there is still a sweltering heat and I don't like it.

When I arrive to dinner I see Kennie and Prim, who is obviously off of her hospital duties at the moment waiting for me and I get my meager meal before joining them, kissing the top of Kennie's head as I do. Kennie's chatter fills the mealtime which otherwise would probably be mostly silent and when Prim is done she tells us that she has to get back to the hospital and I finish my dinner with just Kennie. As soon as I'm almost finished a few trays clatter down across from me and as I look up I have to smile a little at the person smiling at me. Madge and her brood of kids.

"Mind if we sit with you?" Madge questions me and I tell her to go ahead. Technically I think she's assigned somewhere else but I don't really care at all. It's not like I'm that big on following rules anyway.

Kennie chatters away with Madge's kids, one a boy around her age, a four year old boy, and a two year old girl as Madge and I talk about dry things like District 13 before being mostly silent. When we ate lunch together in school we never really felt the need to talk so it's not awkward luckily. But I really do want to talk to her as I haven't gotten the chance yet, and I know most of that conversation shouldn't be talked about with kids around. There are just some things that they don't need to know.

So I'm grateful when none other than Mr. Mellark shows up about fifteen minutes into their meal, plopping his granddaughter on his lap with a smile before greeting me. Mr. Mellark is the only one of the remaining three in the bakery that escaped the firebombs that destroyed the district, apparently his wife and eldest son refusing to follow a Hawthorne anywhere. Apparently the baker and Rye had forgiven us long ago but they obviously hadn't, and in the end it cost them their own lives. Mr. Mellark doesn't seem too sad about it though, as he was never too close to his oldest son and I know that his wife was something of an abusive witch, evidence of the marks and bruises that I saw on Peeta growing up and just my few interactions with her. The baker was in shock to find not only his son and Madge very much alive after believing they were dead all these years (much like me), but also having three children and one on the way. He instantly took on his role as grandfather to their children and it seems like he was always in their lives by the way they have apparently taken to him. I can't help but feel a little happy for him for that.

He seems to know from my and Madge's glances that we would very much like to talk by ourselves, because he offers to play a game with his grandchildren and asks if Kennie would like to come too, to which she immediately accepts. They all go off, Kennie walking next to Madge's oldest who reminds me so much of Peeta that I had to blink a few times to make sure that it really wasn't. Seeing them walking side by side from the back it almost looks like it could be me and Peeta at that age and it sort of disturbs me. Peeta is actually dead unlike everyone here and while it would have never happened I can't help but feel…something like guilt and pain. I don't know, this place is just messing with me. I need to stop focusing on my daughter and Peeta's nephew and focus on why I need to talk to Madge.

We get up from the table and walk around for a while before coming to what I think is Madge's room here in District 13, and I have to say I'm a little surprised by it. I thought all the rooms in District 13 were the same bland rooms, but this one is bigger, with a blue couch and chairs for a sitting area and an extra bed. She sees my face and gives me a small smile.

"Yes it's bigger than most. We have this not only because of how many people we have in our family but because Rye has risen in the ranks quite a bit. He's second in command in his squad now." she offers as explanation and I can tell there's a bit of pride there too, but I can't blame her.

"That's great." I tell her sincerely, but then get to my point after a moment of silence. "So what really happened? I still don't get it, especially leaving Rye and your parents the way you did."

Madge gives me a weak smile before informing me, "Well actually, my parents knew all along and helped to ensure that everyone believed I was dead before the hovercraft came for me. I've known about the rebellion most of my life and always wanted to do more to help and when they were asking for people after another round of illness that decimated the population I thought that was the way for me to go. Rye…well I wanted him to come too but I was told that both of us disappearing at the same time would be too suspicious so I begged them to bring him as soon as they could, and they brought others with him."

"The explosion was planned then?" I question, remembering that New Year's news vividly. It's not every day a house explodes.

Madge nods. "Yes, it was. They all came here and trusted Rye that he was telling the truth about 13 even if he only half believed it himself."

"Who told him? And when?" I ask, curious. He certainly seemed like he believed it, the heartbroken young man hard to see whom his mother didn't even want him to grieve anymore so he moved out.

"Just about a week before. My father and Haymitch told him." Madge informs me and I can't help my annoyance at the mention of Haymitch. So glad that I lived next to the stupid leader of District 12's rebellion for so long while he was 'killing' people off all that time just to help them escape to 13 right under my nose for years. 'Killed' himself off so that Gale would have to go in the freaking Games with Kennie…

"Hey don't be too mad. It was for the best that he did that you know." Madge tries to explain, obviously knowing who my annoyance is for.

And I shouldn't because it's not her fault, but I explode at her, all my frustration coming out from where it's been bubbling under the surface for much too long. "The best how? Is it really the best that Gale and the others are being held captive by the Capitol? The best that he's being tortured or even dead? The best that the stupid breakout didn't go as planned and the Capitol destroyed District 12 or 7 for that matter?"

To her credit, Madge doesn't cower from me, evidently believing that I needed to get this frustration out somehow and I don't really mean any harm to her personally. "District 7 we didn't think would ever happen." She starts to protest but I cut her off.

"But District 12 they did! Our district was destroyed and they knew it would be!" I yell back.

"I know." Madge replies, and the way she says it so weighted makes me believe that she didn't like it either but knew it was probably the only way. And suddenly I look around, at our bland grey clothing, the standard beds and tables, the organized structure that seems to strangle me when I yearn to be outside. If I miss 12 this much and I've only been away from it for a few months I can't imagine how Madge feels. Sure she willingly came to 13, but she was always one who liked pretty things and colors, had everything she needed because her father was the mayor. She left it all behind to come here and despite being married to the man she loves and seems to love her children, I can sense a deep unhappiness and longing, probably the same as one of mine. For home.

"I just…I just miss it." I half whisper, trying not to cry now, the anger mostly dissipated.

"Me too." Madge whispers back sadly, taking my hand in hers comfortingly.

"I wish I could see it one more time. See the damage done so I know what I'm really angry at the Capitol for, experience it myself." I wish aloud.

"Maybe you could." Madge states and I look up at her with a confused look. As if they would ever let me just go out of her and go where I want. "I probably couldn't but you could. You have that kind of power to make them take you."

I laugh bitterly at that. "What are you talking about? I don't have any power."

"Yes you do." Madge persists, "They're terrified of you." She insists and I roll my eyes. Please, even if I'm apparently intimidating in training I don't really believe for one second Coin is scared of me. "No really. They want something from you bad. Give them the slightest bit of hope to go with your demand."

"So you want me to…what? Hint that if they do this for me I might say yes to letting Kennie be their stupid symbol?" I question with a twisted face. I still don't like the idea even if it gives me what I want. I don't want to give them any hope because I don't want that to be true. But I really do want to go to 12, and maybe I'll try just reasoning with them first before the hope. It could work and just because I give them hope doesn't mean I have to absolutely say yes…

"Exactly." Madge smiles smugly.

It took some effort and I grudgingly gave those stupid people in Command a little hope but I'm here, in District 12. Or at least what used to be District 12. Now it's mostly just a pile of rubble and burned remains, some of which I suspect are human and I don't want to know. I walk slowly by myself through what was once Seam, going past my old house that I truly counted as my real home even if life was hard there. Dad coming home from work at night, grimy and tired but all smiles. Cooking rabbit stew over the fire with the gritty tesserae bread. Prim's face when we brought Lady home for her birthday, the happiness spilling over to me from making her happy.

Now it's just another pile of rubble and dirt like everything else here. I'm pained by that but I don't spend too long dwelling and move on. I go quickly past the old Hawthorne house, the one where Prim and Rory moved in when they got married. I have good memories at this pile of rubble too but I move on, knowing anything that they wanted to take with them they did because they were actually prepared for the bombing. They knew it was coming. Going through town is bad too but not as bad as the Seam, and as I see the remains of the gallows and the whipping post that Thread got his use out of once he took over and the crackdown began I can't help but think that at least that horribleness is over. The Justice Building is just a large pile of rubble too, a half burned Capitol flag resting atop the pile.

I don't dwell here and easily find the path towards Victor Village, curiously the only part of District 12 that is not burned to the ground. I have to wonder why but perhaps they didn't in case a reporter or something came to take video of District 12, an example of what happens if you rebel. Got to give them a decent place to stay, now don't we? I stop in front of our house, studying it and trying to sense any danger before deciding that the only thing keeping me back is me. I steel myself to walk in and I'm immediately crushed with longing and a sense of sadness, knowing I should be here but not alone. I walk around the house on alert for any danger but find none, and go into Gale and my bedroom before collapsing on the bed for a minute, composing myself.

Why did I want to come here? Why did I want to see the ashes of District 12 again? Oh right, to give me some sort of anger to work with. Well I have that, but mostly all I can feel right now is guilt and sadness. I try to hold myself together and go into the closet, taking the only things I really want out of it-my father's old hunting jacket as well as Gale's. I place mine on the bed but put Gale's on, and though it's too big on me I immediately feel a little better because it smells like him-the forest, the wood smoke, the something else I can't name. Leaving it on and taking my own in my hands, I go into Kennie's room and take a few things for her-her favorite doll and a few clothes that I know she will like because she likes wearing grey every day less than I do.

There's really nothing else to do here and I don't want to take anything else so I do one more round around the house before I leave, just to make sure there really isn't anything more I want. I'm just about done looking around when I come to one of the last rooms I'm checking on the first floor, the family room. The one where I was sitting when we heard the awful news about the twist because of having no Victor last year. Realizing exactly what it meant…

Yeah, I don't like this room to say the least. I'm about to leave when a smell hits me and I freeze, slowly making my eyes follow the scent before I freeze from what I find.

A single white rose in a vase with a video under it addressed to me.


	3. Vicious

Katniss's POV

For a minute I just stare at it, unblinking and desperately hoping that this is not real. That Snow did not have an awful horribly suffocating white rose left here for me, a symbol of him and his power. Complete with a video addressed to me, an obvious message that he had known or at least hoped I would come back here to the ruins of District 12. That he can predict what I can do. That he can control me.

I knew I could sense danger here long before I even stepped into the house. I was just wrong in the threat I supposed it was. A single rose is not very threatening by itself so when they did a sweep of the place for any danger before I came down it wasn't any sign of alarm; to them. But it is to me-I know what that dang rose represents and I hate him all the more for it. For invading my home and having his stupid scent lurk and wait for me to come.

I shake my head to clear it before slowly putting the things in my hands, my hunting jacket and the few things for Kennie on the couch as I sluggishly but on guard creep over to the coffee table where the gifts for me are. With one angry swipe the vase and the rose go crashing to the floor and break as I stare at the videotape for a second before deciding to watch it. I have to know what's going on. This video was meant for me.

The tape is black for a few seconds before that snake of a man appears, smiling almost smugly with those Capitolmade puffy lips which don't make him look any better and his eyes watchful, careful, but the anger radiating from them I can almost feel even though he's not actually here and just on the television screen. He stares for a moment before speaking, and all I can do is stare back in horror, frozen on my spot standing behind the coffee table.

"Hello Katniss." Snow greets me with from the screen and despite my horror, I'm a little confused and annoyed. Not once in my life has he ever just called me by my first name. It was always Miss or Mrs., never just Katniss. Makes me feel like he has no right to but in a way he's telling me he has every right to because he's in power. I don't like it at all. "Feeling quite pleased aren't we? The rebellion underway and you and your daughter safe and sound in District 13."

No. I'm not happy at all, and the way he says it tells me that he knows that. He's mocking me. Making me feel bad again. But at this point in time I feel more anger at him than sadness. Anger that Gale isn't safe and Snow has him. Anger that Snow left this damn video for me because he apparently knew I would come back here at some point. So what was it for really? Is this really the only reason that he didn't destroy Victor's Village? To give me some message or whatever?

"I thought not." Snow almost smirks through the screen and I'm taken aback for a moment. I mean yeah I figured that's what he was thinking but I didn't think he'd outright say it. "How can we forget about those who the rebels didn't care to save, hmm?"

Gale…Finnick…wait. It's not that they didn't care, it's because their stupid plan didn't work the way it should have. I'm sure Snow knows that too but he's just trying to mess with me. Unhinge me. Control me. And then incredulously, he turns to a screen in his office and clicks play. And I see them.

Finnick is beaten, bloody, one eye swollen shut. His once gorgeous body that all the Capitolites fawned over is now tattered and the well-defined muscles covered in dry blood and some kind of blue stuff that I can't tell what it is. He looks…well he looks awful, and the guilt immediately overtakes me. Finnick…he knew too much. He actually knew things and this is what he gets for it. I can't help feeling responsible for this and I'm sure that was Snow's point.

And then the screen flips to someone else and I have to hold onto something to keep from collapsing. My legs give out and I fall to my knees onto the ground, my arms gripping the coffee table as I watch in horror. Gale. He's showing me Gale, whipped and bruised, cuts along his arms and legs, a grimace plastered on his face. What have they done to him? He doesn't know anything at all! And the interview just a week ago, he looked completely fine. Some of those bruises and cuts are more than a week old…

And then I realize something through the horror. They could have taped that interview weeks ago, right after he was taken out of the arena. They could have taped it and done whatever they wanted with him afterwards. Which clearly they have.

The screen fades to black as Snow stops it, but the burning images still linger behind my eyelids, even as I squeeze them shut and will them to go away. I only open them again to Snow's voice.

"You did this to yourself Katniss." Snow insists and my eyes fly open in confusion. How on earth does this vile man think that I did this? "You started this ten years ago when you chose to go along with whatever plans people came up with for you. Think about that. If you had just taken the appointments, you could have lived alone like you always wanted. You would have never had a child like you always wanted. Dear Vick would be alive and well. And you my dear would not have to deal with the loss and grief that you feel for someone you would have never loved like you do now."

Is he right? Am I responsible for this? I still would have had to do the appointments which I know are awful, but I guess he's right in a way. I never wanted marriage or kids but that's what I got. Vick would have been alive, I wouldn't have felt responsible for that because it was because I couldn't get pregnant within the year because of the birth control. And maybe I wouldn't have felt this loss or grief like he said. Gale might have just remained my best friend…no he's wrong. Don't let him get to you Katniss. Gale and Kennie are the most important people in your life and you can't imagine a life without them anymore. You don't have to do the awful appointments which wear people down, people you know and love. Finnick, poor Finnick. Even Johanna did them and I know it unhinged even her. And Gale…how could I forget how completely broken he was the first time I saw him after I won? I had never once in my life seen him that weak, and I know it's because he was Snow's puppet. It frightened me beyond belief to see him that way and snapped me out of most of my anger. No, appointments would have been worse no matter what I wanted then. I have what I didn't want then now and I have to deal with it.

"Dear Katniss, you can end this madness." Snow claims. How? Switch me for Gale? How is that going to end this. Nothing can end this rebellion now, not when it's already underway. We've already taken over several districts and the fighting is going on in every single one of them. "Call for a ceasefire and I will return your friend and your love to you."

Ceasefire? What?

"Oh look at the time." Snow states nonchalantly, and points to a ticker counting down, much like in the Mentor Room before the beginning of the Games. "Time is ticking and I would suggest leaving before the clock strikes zero if you would like to be alive and get your husband back. Goodbye."

Snow disappears from the screen and it's just the clock ticking down. What? Alive? Clock ticking down…oh my god.

I stumble up from my seat and sprint out of the house as fast as my legs can take me, not even caring about the door being open. Not that it matters because when I'm about forty yards from the house it explodes, the remnants burning in the fire and debris flying everywhere. What the hell?

"Soldier Hawthorne?" I hear in my ear faintly through the ringing, but I can't get myself to answer just yet. "Soldier Hawthorne, are you alright?" the voice says again but I ignore it still looking back from where I'm lying on the ground back to what was once my home. One of Snow's messages is not lost on me in this moment. What I give I can easily take away.

"Katniss!" Haymitch's voice comes through my earpiece and the sheer annoyance makes me answer.

"What?" I yell in anger though I know that they are just trying to make sure of my safety.

"Are you alright?" He asks, concerned but not as hasty as before. And despite still being mad at him, the overwhelming things I'm feeling about that little video, the rose, the house exploding overtakes that for the moment.

"Physically, yes. Mentally…" I reply, a bitter edge to my voice that doesn't hide the fear or anger very well. At the moment though I can't seem to care that I'll probably get my pretty little mentally unstable bracelet back. What does it matter? Gale's being tortured and I just saw the evidence. Anyone would be a little unstable after that, right?

Snow's POV

"The video has been watched. The house has been decimated." They assure me, the people I assigned to watch and wait for that moment. I knew that girl would come back to the ruins of District 12 at some point. It was really the best way for me to talk to her without the entire country that is currently at war knowing the truth. The truth would only add to their flames. But these flames were mine, and I'm sure that it was exactly what I needed for her to stop this and call a ceasefire so that my power can continue without so much distress and fighting back. She'll do it. It's her own fault for loving after all. Love makes you weak. Malleable. Guess it's time to tell Mr. Hawthorne the good news.

As I walk down the hall towards the elevator I feel smug. I still feel smug when I'm going to the car, in the car. All the way down the two sets of elevators, one down and one across that take me to the dungeons. Doctors, peacekeepers, and nurses nod to me, acknowledge me as their President as I stroll to the room I'm headed for, and once I arrive I allow the peacekeepers to open the door for me as I compose myself to not look so smug. At first anyway.

He looks worse than the last time I was here, and I'm glad that these people are actually doing their job. I've since believed that he actually does not have any more information but that doesn't mean that he's not useful anymore. A prime example being the video that was watched today. He looks up at me with pure disgust and rage and I have to be impressed despite myself that his resistant spirit is still alive. Really, what would it take to break this young man? Clearly not physical torture.

"She has seen the video. A ceasefire will be announced I'm certain within days." I inform him. To my astonishment (thought I don't show it), he laughs through his wincing.

"No there won't be. You're an idiot for thinking she will." He assures me with a vicious confident tone despite his obvious pain.

"Are you implying that she does not love you enough to want to save you?" I question him, eyebrow quirked.

"No." he spits out, "I'm saying that she won't because she won't believe in your shitty promises. That she knows the rebellion is more important than anything."

"You don't know that Mr. Hawthorne." I state, but inside I'm faltering a little in my smugness. How can he be so confident that she won't call a ceasefire? She always seemed to be one who protected her loved ones above anything else.

"Yes I do. I know her better than anyone." he reminds me. Yes that's part of the problem. While he's here locked up and she's far away in District 13, he always seems too confident in what is going on even if he doesn't actually know anything for certain when it comes to her. And unfortunately I believe at least half the time he's absolutely correct. But I don't say so to give him something to work with, and instead focus on the other matter at hand.

"Still resisting I see." I comment. That man truly does have an effect on him, just not the one I want most of the time. He cares for him obviously even after believing him dead all these years but the rebellious nature is getting to him. Or perhaps it was always there and just needed a little encouragement to be full blown. Either way I need that to end, and soon. The threat that the not so dead man imposes to make Mr. Hawthorne comply is not doing its job correctly most of the time.

"Always." he replies with a vicious, confident tone.

"We will see, Mr. Hawthorne. We will see." I mock lightly as I leave. I wonder if there is a way to use his resistance against him? Time for another meeting with the doctors then.

Haymitch's POV

"Still?" I question Mason, exasperated. It's been three fucking days since sweetheart came back from 12 where her house exploded after watching Snow's little 'gift' for her, and all she's done since is asked for a ceasefire before lying in bed all day clutching that stupid leather jacket she had on. It's too big on her so I'm guessing it's the kid's but still. We need her to be on board with this fucking rebellion, not wallowing and asking for it to end.

"Yeah. She didn't even realize that Kennie hasn't come back to their room in two days. She's been staying with her grandmother." Mason informs me and I groan in frustration. What I wouldn't do for a drink right now. How was I supposed to know that there wasn't any damn alcohol in 13? That they wouldn't let me bring any, force me to be sober. I can't even describe how awful the nightmares are when you're sober…no wonder I started drinking all those years ago.

"Well that's so fucking great." I reply, my tone dripping in sarcasm. What the fuck am I supposed to do with this now? Sweetheart wants a ceasefire and she's not even being responsive, Squirt's not even living with her currently, and we still need a fucking symbol.

"Well what do you want me to do? You're my 'source' after all and she might listen." Mason questions me and I groan in frustration. Yeah, I have to have a damn middleman because sweetheart's too pissed to talk to me still. Well guess what? I needed to be in 13 and using that damn powder was the only way I could make good on both my promises to them about the Games without getting in too much trouble. Of course the plan wasn't to have just sweetheart come back so that it wouldn't have been as bad…But damn her nails are sharp. I really should have seen that coming.

"Get her out of that damn state and to her senses." I mutter and Mason laughs a little darkly.

"Katniss to her senses? You've got to be kidding me." Mason rolls her eyes, "The only way I got her to do anything before was to go to training to help with the anger." Anger huh? That could work.

"Well do it again. Make her angry. Trick er out of that state." I order Mason and she snorts.

"How am I supposed to do that? Pretend to harm Kennie?"

Well that could have worked if she had even realized that Squirt wasn't there…But there is another way. "Nope. I'll go talk to her." I exclaim, and Mason's eyes go wide at first before she smiles almost viciously.

"Oh that would work." She states confidently, "Mind if I watch?"

Yeah, I get to throw myself into the lion's den to get sweetheart out of her fucking depression. But this time I'll be ready for those nails or anything else she might throw at me if this works. Well I would probably want to watch too. "Sure. As long as ya hold er back if she tries to attack me."

Mason smiles again. "Why would I do that? It would be half the fun of coming to watch that."

I roll my eyes at her but let it go. Too bad no one wants to follow Mason in a rebellion. She's got plenty of anger and viciousness against the Capitol to work with. But no, we have to get a seven year old and a half broken mother who can be fire if she wants to. But that's the problem-we got to get that damn fire back. Easier said than done…

I really could use a drink. I wonder if I would be able to steal potatoes and make my own vodka…


	4. Confidence

Johanna's POV

You'd think by now I'd have been used to living underground in District 13. The grey uniforms, the carefully measured meals, the sterile feeling to everything here-turns out I'm not. I hate it just like most other things. But maybe that's more understandable than most things because I've practically lived outside my whole life, with the trees and fresh air even after winning those fucking Games. And my family…I was shattered but I couldn't let them see that. I couldn't let them know how much that affected me because they would only use it against me more, seeing how they could control and manipulate me. So I hid behind the anger, embraced it. As such, it has what I have done ever since with everything. Like Finnick…

He helped me so much that first year, holding me as I only showed him my sadness and guilt, crying on his shoulder. He was like my big brother at that point, someone to comfort me and he gladly took on that role. But then I had to do the appointments and he…helped me again. He didn't want my first time to be on an appointment because apparently his was and it was horrible, so…he took it upon himself. I mean, I didn't have a boyfriend or anything and I didn't really know or like anyone else in the Capitol so I agreed. Something changed for me after that. I couldn't look at him the same and I certainly didn't think of him as my big brother anymore. But he had Annie. Loved Annie and couldn't think of anyone else. And so when she was reaped I pushed away my jealously and secret glee that if she died I could have him and helped him bring her back instead. For him.

Finnick never knew the real reason why I helped him so much to bring her back nor the reason I helped Gale. No one does really. I helped Gale because he reminded me of me; loving your best friend but something is in your way. In my case it was Annie Cresta in my way, but in his case it was Katniss in the Games and Katniss not wanting love. But he got it; he got her, he got a family and a life he wanted-just what I wanted but can't have. So I add it to the anger I already have plenty of even though I'm glad that at least one of us got it all. Even if he's the one in the fucking Capitol and Katniss is here wallowing. I think it's high time for her to learn anger-anger can be useful, wallowing is weak.

Haymitch and I just walk on into her room not even knocking like a polite or normal person would do. For one because neither of us are polite by any means and probably not considered normal, but I highly doubt that Katniss would have answered the door anyway. She's still curled up on the standard District 13 bed with a leather jacket on that's far too big for her and shocking, doesn't even acknowledge that someone entered the room. That is, until Haymitch speaks up.

"Get up sweetheart." He orders, and to that she pauses for a moment before flying out of her position and sitting up, a hint of the anger we're looking for making its way through her most current state of being.

"Don't call me that." She almost hisses and Haymitch laughs.

"I'll call ya whatever ya want though I'm not sure how sweet ya are real or otherwise." Haymitch points out to which she is first confused and then almost pissed. Why didn't we think of this before? We could have had her out of this before it started.

"What do you mean?" she questions him almost suspiciously.

"Well let's see. Oh yeah, you've been here for three days and ya didn't even notice Squirt hasn't come back in two have ya?" Haymitch asks, and her face contorts into something like she's going to fight back before the guilt washes over her.

"Kennie…" she whispers, clearly mad at herself for something, though I don't really know what. "Damn my mother." She whispers again, and while both Haymitch and I look at her strangely at that comment she ignores us. What does her mother have to do with this? She's the one taking care of Kennie right now but I don't see how Katniss should be angry because of that. Or how she even knows that's where Kennie is.

"Get yourself together and do something useful!" Haymitch half yells at her, "Or do you want him to be there for life?"

"But if we call a-" Katniss begins to protest but Haymitch cuts her off.

"Oh please, you really think that if we call this off he's just gonna return them and all will be well? No, if anything he'll probably kill us all." Haymitch agrues and I can see the anger rising in her once more. Well at least it's working.

"But he already is! He can kill them anytime he wants to. They could be dead already!" Katniss yells back, but her voices cracks at the end.

"No they won't." I reply to which her head snaps to me, "They won't be of any use dead." I point out bitterly. Which is so much worse in a way; sometimes you're better off dead.

"They're being tortured. I saw them." Katniss informs me, shaking her head and trying not to cry. What? Snow actually showed her that in that damn video he left her before he blew up the damn house? Well I guess it was just to unhinge her and that certainly worked. But we can't use unhinged, we can use anger. So I'm going to help bring that to the surface.

"Did you like that? Them being tortured?" I ask her and I can already see the anger boiling inside of her, the frustration at me for even asking something that stupid. But I don't let her answer me and go on. "No you don't. So stop it! Help us rally the fucking country and we'll get them out alive!"

"How is a stupid symbol going to get them back?" she questions me and I roll my eyes. She's sort of got a point but she's not seeing the bigger picture. Yeah she'll have to either be the Phoenix herself or let Kennie be it, but she doesn't have to give in without getting anything back.

"By making them agree to break them out if there's going to be a symbol for the rebellion." I point out to her, "They want it bad-make them give you what you want bad in return!"

She looks like she's going to argue back at first, but then she sits there eyes wide at first before it clicks. She can help. She can get them back. "Let's go to Command." Katniss orders and I smirk as I follow her determined steps but Haymitch pulls me back and looks at me almost incredulously, like he didn't think that I could actually get her to see sense.

"See, no need for me to hold her back, now is there?" I mock him almost smugly as he lets me go and I follow the already a half hallway ahead bound and determined Katniss. It just goes to show anger is the best thing to work with. It hides the other emotions splendidly and gets things done.

Katniss's POV

Why didn't I think of that before? A ceasefire wouldn't end anything at all…except the rebellion. And I would bet that if we had actually gone through with it not only would many people I know including my family, me, Kennie, Gale, and a ton of others be dead within the month, but Panem would still be under Snow's power. And you could also bet that the next Hunger Games would be so much worse to make up for it. They already destroyed two more districts, they wouldn't hesitate to crackdown and punish the other ten.

And instead of immediately thinking of this what do I do? Ask for a ceasefire just like Snow wanted before turning into my mother after my father died. I drowned in misery and loss instead of being useful. My god, I didn't even realize that my own child hadn't been there! The guilt for myself is prominent but mostly I'm angry. Angry at my mother for giving me that, angry at myself for being a hypocrite and turning into the very thing I never forgave my own mother for. Angry at Snow for having them, torturing them, showing me it before trying to manipulate me into ending the rebellion that is the only way to make a better Panem. Angry that I have to give in at Command. But Johanna's right (never thought I'd say that); if I'm going to give them at least some of what they want then I want something in return. I want them to go rescue them from the Capitol-really, I don't know why they haven't done it already.

So I walk (or rather stalk) right into Command with my head high, a frown on my face and the anger and determination evident in my expression with Haymitch and Johanna coming right behind me. Coin, Plutarch, and the others immediately look up from their work and stare at me in confusion for a moment before Coin speaks up.

"Soldier Hawthorne." She nods to me before stupidly pointing out, "Command is not on your schedule right now."

I decide to ignore that and go straight to the point, "I don't think you're going to care."

Some eyes shoot up in surprise before Plutarch is the one to ask, "Does this mean that you are going to allow Makenna to be the Phoenix?" and I shake my head. Under no circumstance will I allow them to touch my seven year old for that purpose even if I didn't have control over that in the arena.

But before their confused looks can get very deep I reply, "No. But I will." Murmurings and excited faces and shouts start taking over before I can even say anything else.

"Well that's wonderful, we'll get to-" Plutarch begins but I cut him off.

"I will under some conditions." I announce loudly so that everyone can hear me over the excitement. Command goes a silent before looking to each other with mostly looks of dread before Coin says something.

"What conditions were you thinking of?" she questions me. I do want them to rescue Gale and Finnick and whoever else they decided to hold captive because of us but I don't think I should start with that. I should ask for something smaller at first. Besides, if I'm going to give them what they want I don't want to ask for just one thing. Might as well milk this for all it's worth.

"For starters, I want to hunt out in the woods with Makenna." I demand. I despise being in this sterile place underground and I feel trapped, like I can't be myself. Besides, if I can bring Kennie out with me then she would benefit too. We kind of raised her to love the woods too and I know that she would enjoy it. More murmurings is the response and a lot of them are unapproving, thinking that it's unsafe and the security issues it would raise. But if I can't get this smaller request I'm never going to get my bigger one.

"I would get better faster if I hunt outside. We'll use our own bows and everything and give all the meat to the kitchen." I point out, trying to keep the begging out of my voice. More murmurings and whispers before Coin speaks up.

"Alright. Three hours a day during the afternoon, a half mile radius with trackers and communicuffs." Coin declares which ends most of the whispers but not the frowns. "Anything else?"

My confidence growing after winning that one, I go for my bigger request. "I want you to rescue Gale and Finnick and anyone else they have captive in the Capitol. Really, I don't know why you haven't done it already."

"We haven't because of the danger it imposes, not to mention all the covers that will be blown if we do so. Many of our spies will most likely lose their lives in helping us do so." Plutarch argues back, defending their choice to not rescue them but I'm not backing down. They didn't see them tortured.

"Like your cover? You blew yours and your fine." I point out. Really, might as well bring their spies with them back here. I'm not saying it's the best place to be but it's better than being dead.

"Yes and I just barely made it out alive with you, Nelia, and Carper." Plutarch points out, and I look to the two he mentioned in the corner of the room and I make a mental note to ask them exactly what happened there. I still don't know how I got to District 13, not really. It's all a black fuzzy blur in my mind. "Besides the fact that my fellow rebel Gamemaker Horatia paid the price for us."

Somewhere in the back of my head I remember something about her being the Head Gamemaker which is interesting but I push it back for now. Obviously that price was not living, but I'm not backing down.

"It's too risky. I'm sorry but that won't work." Coin apologizes with a note of finality but somehow I don't think she's too sorry. All her finality does is anger me further.

"No." I glare, "You will rescue them or you will not have your stupid Phoenix."

"We cannot risk it Katniss, I'm sorry." Plutarch apologizes too, but I half believe he actually means it. But I'm not backing down. So with one last glare I turn and start to walk away, back to the door. Well if they don't give me what I want I'm not going to give them what they want.

"Wait!" Plutach's voice calls to me, almost panicked. What, did he really not believe me at first? I keep walking towards the door but slower, giving them time to go back and give me what I want. "Alright we'll rescue them."

I smile so that no one can see it before composing my face again and turn around, my glare not gone.

"No we won't." Coin argues, but Plutarch half sighs, half groans.

"We need her. We'll risk it and I'm sure that they will understand why we need them to blow their covers." Plutarch replies and Coin gives him an incredulous look before studying me. I try not to look too cocky, but I feel like I actually do have some sort of power and don't back down on my glare nor the look I give Coin which asks her Well?

She gives in first on the staring contest and this battle, "Fine. Anything else?"

"Nope." I answer. I can't think of anything at the moment and I'm pretty content that Gale is going to be rescued so I might as well not push it further.

"Very well then. Let's go to the studio and get to work on the first propo!" Plutarch's assistant declares, clearly excited about this. Everyone in the room stops either their excited or pissed off expressions when a laugh from behind me rings loud. I turn around to find Haymitch doubled over laughing and we all look at him strangely as he finishes, looking up to us.

"You've got to be kidding me." Haymitch laughs, "You want her to act?"

"Well we can't put her in real danger." Plutarch's assistant points out with a roll of her eyes, but she doesn't get the point Haymitch is making. Even I have to grudgingly admit that I'm a horrible actress, and I doubt I'm going to be any good in a studio. Even if I'm still mad at Haymitch and it just adds to that that he's pointing that little fact out.

"Sure we can." Haymitch shrugs. "Her acting will be how this rebellion dies, not keep it alive and moving." I roll my eyes at him but the others don't see it because my back is to them. I think that's a little dramatic.

"Do you believe it would be better to be in the real danger?" Plutarch asks me and I nod. I want to do something real anyway, see the real fighting. A fake demolition sight isn't going to inspire me to do anything at all.

"Yeah. In case you haven't noticed I've hunted my whole life and I won the Hunger Games. I think I can handle a real district in a warzone." I point out. Really, it's stupid to ask any Victor if anywhere is too dangerous. We've all fought for our lives and killed before or did they forget that little detail?

"Fine." Coin sighs. "We will find the safest place to get something out of you and send you there with guards and a communicator from the hovercraft above you."

"Alright." I agree. I'm not too thrilled about the guards or anything but at least I'm going into a real warzone.

"You will be given an earpiece which Haymitch will be able to speak to you in from the hovercraft above you." Coin declares and at that I glare at Haymitch. Great, he's one of the last people I want giving me orders and he'll be able to essentially be inside my head.

He smirks at me before giving me a guffaw, "That's right sweetheart. I'm still your mentor."

"You were never my mentor." I point out.

"Doesn't mean you don't have to listen to me." Haymitch argues back and I roll my eyes. Why do I have to listen to this drunk? Oh wait, he has to be sober now. Is it bad that that fact makes me a little happy?

Probably. But at the moment I can't find it in me to care.

Gale's POV

God I've never been in so much fucking pain in my life, and that includes the arena when I got bitten by that mutt. But I don't let it show too much, don't let it break me. It certainly helps that I have some encouragement.

I look up to the screen on the television that usually plays either Hunger Games tapes or Capitol propaganda to torture me further when whatever was on is cut off and a video plays. None other than Kennie shooting a dummy with the name Snow on it, the dummy tied up. What is this? Is this…was this her private session? I thought that was supposed to be private. After watching it at the end is burning letters that say If I believe in this, so can you. Showing everyone that if a child knows that Snow needs to be taken down then they can fight too. Really, I'm impressed because while I harshly told Snow that Katniss would never call a ceasefire or let Kennie be the Phoenix I didn't actually believe in my own words. I know how Katniss works, and she would have never allowed Kennie to be their symbol to protect her and I half expected her to actually ask for a ceasefire. She can't really handle others being in pain too well, especially if she feels like it was her fault which she usually does. But this just proves me wrong for once. I can't be unhappy about it though and just to see Kennie lifts up my spirits immensely and I know I can resist for a while longer.

"She looks just like you." a voice breaks my concentration and I snap out of my thinking. Well fuck, they're apparently taking away my hunting senses if I didn't even realize that a doctor walked in. I glare at him instead of answering, sure that it's just some pretense before he mocks me or something.

"Here, I brought you some food." He walks over to me and hands me something. Keeping me alive to torture me more? What a surprise.

He walks away and out the door before I look at the food he placed in my hand. A cracker with a phoenix on it…what? One of my torturers is part of the rebellion? I quickly place the cracker in my mouth as the chains on my wrists rattle, letting the treasonous evidence disappear. Maybe I'll get out of here yet. Seems like today is full of surprises and confidence boosters.


	5. Manipulation

Dr. Calvus's POV

"Rescue mission? Now?" I question Plutarch, unbelieving. I mean I get the point because it will help the rebellion along and then Snow will not have anyone to use against them, but it's dangerous. While I long ago realized how despicable the Capitol and Snow are and want change a majority of the others undercover value their own lives over the rebellion no matter what they say. It seems a bit selfish but not unforgivable. Had I not lost someone dear to me years ago because of Snow I would be just like them. But the fact that my son was killed for virtually no reason left me with a sense that I have no one else to live for. So the rebellion is my life now, and I don't value my life as much as I probably should. What's the point, really?

"Well Katniss agreed to be our symbol but only if we rescue them." Plutarch tells me again and I sigh.

"I thought you wanted the little girl. I saw the propo you did with her private session." I inform him. Really I'm surprised that it even got to the Capitol. They must have someone very good with wires and television cables or something.

"Yes we did and still do, but her mother's…very protective of her." Plutarch explains and I can hear the hint of annoyance in his voice. Plutarch not having any children himself obviously doesn't understand that protective nature for a child from a parent. If he did then he wouldn't be so exasperated.

"But the propo-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"Yes well…Katniss isn't exactly aware of that. Actually we plan to film Makenna in the sets here and superimpose her into the propos." He tells me and my eyes shoot up in surprise and a bit of anger.

"Is that really the best idea to cross her like that?" I question him. Really, I wouldn't want to be them when Katniss finds out. If she's that protective now…

"We'll handle it." Plutarch insists and I decide to let it go, knowing I'm not going to get any sense driven into him on the matter. "Just…try to figure out a date for us on the rescue. We need it sooner than later or she might back off of the agreement."

I sigh. "Alright I'll try." Plutarch hangs up and I walk back to the dungeons deep in thought, trying in vain to come up with a way to help the rescue without blowing every cover here. Really, it's near impossible because there are far less spies here than I would like there to be.

When I come to the outside of Gale's room I see the other three doctors as well as some nurses talking in low voices, clearly frustrated by the way they are looking at a sample of something and their clipboards.

"Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?" I ask, breaking their frustrated argument or whatever it was they were discussing.

One of them sighs in exasperation before answering me, "It appear that the hijacking is not working like it should. He's still resistant to its effects and we can't seem to warp his memory at all of his wife or child."

"Are you sure?" I question them, secretly glad.

Another nods. "Yes, and I just tested the venom to see if it didn't accidentally get mislabeled. Came up positive for tracker jacker venom."

"President Snow's not going to be happy." a nurse murmurs, almost fearful.

I shrug in response. "Well they did have a lot of history before there were ever recordings of them, didn't they? Maybe that's the problem." I offer as an explanation. And I switched the venom with an unharmful substance that comes up positive for tracker jacker venom.

Oops.

Katniss's POV

As I look down at the book of designs in my hand, flipping through the ingenious fabrics and materials and outfits, I don't know whether I'm more grateful or mad. I mean Cinna was involved in this? How long did he know? How long ago did he plan for this, want me to make this decision? I shake my head slightly as I go through the book, seeing the thin bulletproof material of three outfits. Two, however, won't be put to use though. It's sort of a shame since Cinna obviously put effort into these but I'm not going to allow Kennie to ever need a reason to be in that bulletproof Phoenix battle suit and Gale…well maybe he'll wear his when he's rescued and safe. I can't see him staying out of the rebellion even if he is still injured.

"When did he make this?" I ask quietly after flipping through all the pages, coming to the last one where there is a drawing of not only my mockingjay pin but of Kennie's phoenix necklace (which apparently everyone else but me knew was the symbol of the rebellion), complete with a note in Cinna's perfect script, I'm still betting on you. The very thing that he told me right before I got in the tube for my own Games to begin.

"Around the time that we planned not to have a Victor last year." Plutarch informs me, "We knew that Snow would probably change the Quarter Quell card to whatever he wished for the twist but we weren't sure exactly what. Makenna is just so young that we believed he would realize that putting her in the Games at this age would be a horrible idea." Wait…what? Planned to have no Victor?

"You planned that?" I half seethe. Geez there's only one winner per year; they couldn't even bother to spare one life out of twenty four?

"We needed a spark sweetheart." Haymitch explains and I dart my glare back to him. Of course he would have known about that.

"So you knew about the card twist to with the no Victor thing?" I question. If looks could kill I would have burned through both of them now. Actually I wish I had my bow too. Shoot them all for planning this.

"Yes." Plutarch states, and I must look like I'm actually going to harm him because he puts up his hands in defense, "We thought he would only put Victors in or something. Never Makenna or those other little children."

"Ended up being the very thing we needed though. Even the Capitol didn't like it." Haymitch adds as I just shake my head. They knew. They manipulated everything, just like Snow. Heck, they manipulated Snow in a way. Will it ever stop?

"Are you really saying that you're glad ten little children died?" I ask, clearly disapproving. Really, they are no better than Snow.

"No of course not!" Plutarch answers, clearly shocked that I would even ask. "But under the circumstances we can now use them as martyrs. Individual symbols for each of those districts, something to remind them why President Snow must be taken out."

I guess that grudgingly makes a little sense, but I'm still not done being mad at them. "If you have them then why do you need me or Makenna for that matter?"

"A collective symbol. Something to terrify Snow." Haymitch replies and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah because we're so terrifying." I scoff. Really, I'm the one who's admittedly a little scared of him. I might have thought it was mostly talk when I came out of the arena but I've seen and heard far too much of his terror and manipulation over the years to not know he's dead serious. The entertainment we had to be. The birth control so he could kill a family member. The parties for Kennie every year just to show us that he controls us. Not giving me birth control a few years ago so he could make good on his threat. Kennie in the Games with Gale, Kennie's interview dress. Capturing and torturing Gale and Finnick. Really, Snow's the one to be afraid of, not me or my seven year old.

"You can be." Plutarch mutters. "Anyway, back to the subject at hand. President Coin has agreed to allow you and a team of soldiers to visit District 4 this afternoon."

Guess he wants that other conversation to be over. I'm not done with it but I guess I'll let it slide for now. At least they're actually sending me into a real warzone. "What are we doing there?"

"There's a burial ritual for the masses that died in riots and the fighting. The fighting is all but done there but the last bit of resistance there could use that final push. It's very important." Plutarch informs me.

"Why is it so important?" I ask.

"Because it's the last district that we don't have that sends food to the Capitol. We've already taken Districts 9 through 11 which were vitally important to do so."

"What else do we have control of?" I question them, my tone a bit calmer than it was before. Plutarch seems to ease a bit with it and smiles as he answers me.

"As of now we have those three and District 3. There is fighting in all the others but I have a strong feeling that Districts 1 and 2 will be the hardest to control." I somehow manage not to roll my eyes at that one. What a big surprise, the Career districts will probably be the last to take. They always were a bit more Capitolite than the rest of us. Of course they also lived a lot better too. I would bet that not one person in those two districts have ever gone a day without food. I mean, really, it's how I partially won the Games, taking out their supplies.

"Alright. Let's go to Four." I reply, ready to do something. I'm not entirely thrilled by going to a burial but at least I'm going somewhere.

"Excellent. Haymitch will take you to where your suit is waiting for you and then you will immediately be taken to District 4. I will see you after the footage is taken." Plutarch exclaims.

"You're not coming with us?" I ask, a little surprised. I thought that he would jump right on it.

"No, I have important matters to discuss. Mostly with Beetee on how and when we will show the footage to the districts and hopefully even the Capitol." He explains. "Off you go!" he waves us off and I grudgingly if not a little confused follow Haymitch to wherever we're going. Strange man. Well, I guess he is from the Capitol.

After I've changed into my black suit of armor that Cinna designed with some flame accents (I guess part of the whole Phoenix thing but it could just be from that Girl on Fire thing from all those years ago) we find out that the hovercraft will be delayed for about twenty minutes. So instead of going to my old prep team that they apparently brought with them to District 13 (I wonder why I haven't seen them?) because I'm not planning on wearing any make up, I decide to go up to find Kennie. I really do feel horrible that I didn't even realize that she wasn't there for an extended period of time, lost in whatever state of mind I was in. Geez, I really am a horrible mother.

I go to our room first but I really don't expect to find her there and unshockingly I don't, so next I decide to go to where Hazelle and Posy are staying. Really it would make the most sense for her to be with them since my mother is always working in the hospital here along with Prim. But surprisingly enough she is with my mother after all. After sad greetings and goodbyes because we all miss the one person who isn't here I quickly go to the hospital wing where I finally find Kennie playing with some sort of medical thing I doubt she should be playing with. As soon as she sees me though she puts it down and comes running to me and I take her into a tight hug.

"I missed you Mommy. They said that you had to go away for a little bit." Kennie mumbles into my shoulder and I try not to cry. God I really am a terrible person. I guess telling her that was better than the truth though.

"I did and I'm back now, but I have to go away for a little bit again." I inform her regretfully. She pulls away a little but I keep her in a loose embrace, not wanting to let her go again.

"Where are you going now?" she questions me.

"District 4." I tell her, but not why.

"Can I go with you?" she pleads and I sigh.

"Kennie…"

"Please?" she almost begs, "I miss you and I'm bored here."

Ugh, going for the guilt factor whether she knows it or not. For such a little girl she certainly knows how to manipulate me sometimes without trying. Evidence to the fact that I actually give in, mostly from the guilt that I turned into my mother over the past few days and she didn't have me there. "Fine. But only if you stay in the hovercraft with Haymitch the whole time."

"Okay! Thank you Mommy!" Kennie squeals before squeezing me into another hug, clearly excited even if she's not really doing anything and she has to stay with Haymitch of all people.

"You're welcome sweetie." I smile at her. I hope they actually allow her to come…oh what am I saying, I'll make them let her come. It's not like she's going to cause much trouble from the hovercraft.

Haymitch's POV

"Alright sweetheart, just get through it." I try to calm her down, knowing that she doesn't like pain or death. Pretty ironic for a Victor to not be able to handle blood or anything, but as long as the others don't know that we'll be alright.

"I'm fine Haymitch." her voice comes through a little annoyed with me, but she can't hid the fear in her voice all the way.

"You asked for this." I remind her. Not that I actually thought the studio would be better but a burial isn't exactly the best thing either.

"Oh shut up and pay attention to Kennie." she orders, very annoyed now and I laugh. Shit, she really can surprise me sometimes, and that's saying something. I had to hold back a laugh when she insisted squirt was coming with us but ordered she only stay in the hovercraft. Well shit, that's exactly what we wanted! Now Plutarch won't even have to put squirt in a studio and go behind sweetheart's back to put squirt in the propos. Oh sure she's supposed to stay in the hovercraft, but I can arrange for that to not happen.

I just watch what's happening on the ground for a while, watching the burial from above. Apparently it's a sort of tradition here, buryin the bodies by the ocean and singing some sea song to them, wishin them well on their journey or whatever. Really from up here it just looks like a mass of people, but it's pretty damn easy to see that the district's still a warzone from the smoke still risin from some of the buildings and other shit I don't even know what it is. It'll make a good background though or whatever Plutarch's assistant lady was talkin about. Now to get the little lady of the hour down there…

Well we can't just bring er down there, sweetheart would kill us. And lying is just as bad because I'm sure she'd find out at some point and be pissed, and I really don't want her nails after me again. Not that I cared about the scars but it hurts like a bitch without my booze to distract me. So we gotta make it real but not so horrible that we actually die. Hmm. Looking around…come on idea…got it!

"Hey squirt." I call and see her look back at me from where she's been lookin around out the windows at the district below us.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"Wanna play a game?" I question her and she smiles and nods before coming over.

"What are we playing?" she asks me and I try not to smirk.

"A wishing game." I tell er. "We say what we want and press a button and it gives us what we want."

"Okay! You go first." Squirt insists and I laugh.

"Booze." I answer, and press the button for food. It shoots out a nonalcoholic beer but squirt doesn't know that. I down it and even though it tastes kind of the same as the real thing it sucks ass. Nothin at all. Fuck I miss real booze.

"It's good." I lie, "You're turn."

She smiles before looking like she's gonna cry. Oh fuck not the crying. "I want Daddy to be with us." she wishes in a small voice, "Which button do I press?"

I sigh heavily. Fuck, the one thing I can't actually give er at the moment. Maybe this was a fucked up idea. "Sorry squirt but there ain't a button for that." I tell her soberly. A lot easier to do when I'm actually sober even though I'm still lookin for a way to change that. "Want anything else?"

"Yeah." she claims after a moment. "I want to be down there with Mommy."

I try hard not to smirk but I do smile, "Actually there is a button for that. Right here."

"Really?" she asks, her face lighting up. Fuck, why is it so easy to manipulate kids? They make this too easy.

"Yep. Just press that one there." I inform her, pointing to the emergency button.

"The red one?" she questions and I nod in confirmation. Yep, just press that and we're gonna film ya on the ground. Sweetheart can't even get too pissed at me if she's the one that pressed the damn button.

Sirens go off immediately, the sound piercing through the whole hovercraft and squirt covers her ears as I lead her to the middle where we'll come down and escape. I don't hide my smirk anymore.

One order of a rebellion symbol ready to go.


	6. Life

Katniss's POV

Singing fills the air, a low hypnotic chant at first before it turns into something more light, more sweet, feeling as if the sounds are actually part of the seaside here. The flowers, white, pink, and yellow, all of plants found near the sea decorate the landscape in a pattern that was not made by nature, but strangely appears that it could be. The ones we are sending off on their journey to the seas of heaven they tell me are in the middle of a circle of sea water, surrounding them with the circle of life. Water equals life. Life goes on forever. They chant as every person draped in white takes a handful of sand and allows it to drift over those going on their journey.

I suppose this is supposed to be beautiful; all it does is make me feel out of place and uncomfortable.

When they told me I was going to a burial in District 4, that's exactly what I thought I was getting; a funeral for those who had died in the rebellion, the fighting against the Capitol. I thought it was going to be people dressed in somber black clothes just like the interview night and crying filling the air. Not this. I was so completely unprepared for something like this that I froze in place when I first saw it. How out of place I look and feel here, me with my midnight black hair and storm colored eyes, donning a battle suit. I don't belong here among the auburn haired or blonde sea green eyed people dressed in light. I don't even know what to do with this. Why did they think I would be good here? What purpose could I possibly do for the rebellion here?

"You'll be fine. Here." Carper assures me, handing me my own white cloth to put on. I look at it and suspect it's really just a bed sheet but I don't say so. Instead I look to see him helping Nelia put hers on in a certain way with a knot just under her breast while his is tied at his waist just like all the other men I see around here. But neither of them have taken off their suits of thin armor from District 13 so I guess I don't have to either and fumble with trying to knot it just like Nelia's is. I'm sure I look pretty silly but not much I can do about that. In an effort to do something even though I'm not sure what. I join the rest of District 4 who at first look at those of us in uniforms strangely but once they figure out who I am, and who Carper is, they aren't as tense and welcome us with open arms.

While I don't know the chants or songs I hum along to the repeated sounds as I tentatively hold hands with Carper to my left and one of the District 13 soldiers to my right, sort of swaying along with them to the rhythm before I figure out the repeated words and softly at first but then louder do the chant myself. When it's time to take a handful of sand and each individual person tosses it onto the bodies is when we are interrupted by a loud siren and small almost miniature hovercrafts come down from the sky before I sense the actual hovercraft coming down a good hundred yards away from them, the wind sweeping everything away and sand getting into my eyes. But at the moment it's not one of my greater worries. Kennie...what's going on? Why are they coming down? They were supposed to stay in the air where she was safe!

I leave my place in line as soon as the door to the mini hovercraft opens and Kennie runs to me, clearly a little confused and scared. Haymitch comes behind her and I glare at him. I should have known that if I actually brought her all the way here he would disobey my orders to keep her in the hovercraft where she was safe.

Haymitch puts his hands up in surrender before explaining, "The emergency sirens went off. I don't know what's wrong."

I ease my glare at him with that, but only a little. "Really?" I ask, unconvinced.

"Yes ma'am." One of the flight crew assures me before turning to the crowd. "We will look around for the problem safe on the ground but in the meantime go ahead with your ceremony here. I assure you we will not interrupt you further."

Murmurings and annoyed whispers fill the air after that but they easily let it go and offer those who aren't checking for the hovercraft problem white sheets and to join the ceremony. Haymitch refuses at first but I make him as payback for everything and he grumbles but eventually concedes when he gets stares from just about everyone currently living in 13. I try not to smirk at how ridiculous he looks in it but it's just too hard and he rolls his eyes at me. Kennie actually looks pretty cute in her child sized white cloth and I keep her near me as we resume the ceremony with a chant first and then start from where we left off with the sand. Kennie and I let our sand go at the same time and as it covers the bodies I feel a sense of sadness even though this is a celebration of life. I know (I hope) Gale is still alive, but him being gone all this time has been such a weight on me, the grief and guilt overtaking me. But I can't turn into my mother again, not for Kennie's sake. She needs me here with her. So I bottle up the pain and try to focus on her and the ceremony and it works a little. Maybe if I can just focus on not letting myself return to that state I can fight it.

After the ceremony is mostly complete there are cheers much to my confusion as the whole of those here take off their white sheets and place them on top of where the bodies are before going off to where I can see a few fires going on the beach maybe a half mile away. Instead of doing anything I look to Carper for an explanation and he smiles.

"Now it's time for the party before the bodies are buried." Carper informs me as he takes off his own white cloth and tosses it where the others have gathered in a large pile.

"Party?" I question him, utterly confused.

"To celebrate the lives of those no longer with us." grins Carper before insisting, "Come on, it's fun."

A fun party at a burial? I will never understand District 4. But I always knew after my Victory tour that there was a sense of happiness here despite everything. Before I just thought it was because they had more food and they had the benefits of being a Career district. But now…well maybe that's just how they were all along. Apparently those here celebrated life instead of mourning death for hundreds of years, long before Panem even existed. At this point I'm not entirely sure what I like better.

After discarding the white sheets we walk towards the party where I can sense a mood change in the atmosphere, one of joy and happiness even though some of it appears to be faked, maybe those who actually lost someone and their loved ones are under that pile of white sheets. But even the faked joy turns into real laughter as the food is brought out and shared, lots of seafood and fish and some sort of salty bread. And much to Haymitch's delight, some kind of alcohol runs freely and that certainly makes the moods brighter all around. I even venture to taste it myself from Nelia's cup and instantly my face goes sour at the taste. It's certainly strong, that's for certain. Doesn't taste very good either.

"It gets better tasting the longer you drink it." Nelia insists, who is on her second cup already but I still shake my head at it. That one sip was enough to have me a little dizzy and I don't want to be drunk even if this is a celebration.

After the food is done being eaten and all that's left is the potent alcohol someone starts up music and dancing begins right there on the beach, the sun beginning to set and turning the sky fifty shades of pink and orange. I opt not to dance but once a group of little kids comes over and insists that Kennie joins them she looks to me for permission and I let her with a smile, watching as she runs after them before giggling and dancing and twirling around with them. It's nice to know after everything she can still be a child. I fight the dark thoughts that accompany why she had to go through everything and her seeing death firsthand but sheer will power doesn't work too well right now. So I eventually give in and down some of the awful alcohol with a sour face to give me something else to distract me. After finishing the cup in a few minutes I take another and sit down, slowly sipping this one. Nelia was right; it does taste better the longer you drink it. It's still not that good tasting but with the warm fuzzy feeling buzzing through my system right now I can't seem to care.

Sometime between finishing that cup and halfway through another a group from District 4 insists I dance. I tell them I don't really know how to dance but with laughter and playfully pulling me up from my seat they pull me into some sort of line dance and I find myself…actually having fun. Maybe celebrating life really is the way to go. Or maybe that's the alcohol talking.

Laughter and smiles are instantly turned to frowns and shouts when some of the rebel soldiers here that weren't celebrating interrupt the music by telling us Capitol hovercrafts were on their way and they would be here soon. No sooner than the music is turned off does the bombing start, setting a part of the village further away from us on fire, the blaze quickly turning what was once a darkening sky into a bright background.

Screams fill the air as people try to get to safety; apparently they have bunkers here underground or something. Kennie miraculously finds me somewhere in the chaos and presumes a tight grip on my leg, hiding her face in my back. My fault, this is all my fault. The Capitol must have somehow found out that I was here, that Kennie was here and now they're trying to harm us, harm District 4 for having us. I have to help what I'm responsible for. The thought instantly sobers me through the alcohol's influence.

"Kennie, go with Nelia." I insist before I try to pry her off me so that I can go get my militarized bow that has fire and explosive arrows that Beetee gave to me before we left. Maybe I can destroy the hovercraft from here on the ground.

"No!" She cries, making her grip stronger as I sigh. I can't bring her with me, she'll get hurt.

"Kennie, I have to help them. Go with Nelia." I order but she shakes her head again.

"No I won't leave you." She cries and I sigh. God I want to help but I can't leave her either. "I have a bow too." She informs me and I stand still.

"What?" I ask her.

"I do, Haymitch told me he brought it for me if you let me come down." she exclaims. Did he now? Something tells me that 'emergency' wasn't so much of an emergency as a fake one so that she had to come out but I can't focus on that right now.

"Fine, come with me." I sigh and take her hand in mine as I grab my bow and find some District 4 soldiers.

"How many are there?" I ask as another bomb hits District 4, closer to town this time.

"At least four or five more." A man informs me.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, "We shouldn't have come."

He shakes his head at me but strangely has a smile on his face. "No, we're glad you came. It's nice to know that you're actually alive and well."

"But the bombs…" I try to explain but he shakes his head at me again.

"No, we think those were already planned. The Capitol probably wasn't so keen on our burial ceremony." The man insists and I decide to let it go. I still think that it's my fault but there's no more time to argue as another hovercraft comes. Instinctually I take my bow and aim for it with an explosive arrow, my stance a little off because Kennie is still holding onto me so I just hit the tip of a wing that I can barely see only because of the fires taking over on the ground.

"Kennie, I can't hit them if you hold onto me." I gently chide her, but she seems to get it. Curiously, she lets go almost instantly and takes an arrow from her own quiver, aiming the arrow just like I taught her. Incredulously she hits the hovercraft with better aim than I did and I look at her in awe.

"Beetee said he put a target thing in here so that I would have better aim." She explains to me as my mouth drops open. Did he now? In the corner of my eye I sense a bright light and look over to see a camera and Fulvia up here on the roof of some building and I try not to shake my head at them. What are they doing? This is a freaking warzone and they're still filming us? I had actually mostly forgotten the cameras were there all night. But even then, I have to be impressed that they are actually up here and not cowering for cover. Anything for a good shot I guess.

Kennie and I take turns trying to hit the hovercraft along with the guns that the District 4 soldiers have, but it's when a bomb hits the burial site where we were earlier and it goes up in flames from the white sheets that the soldier I was talking to earlier yells at me, ordering me to get cover. It's not safe, they're too close. I want to argue but I can tell Kennie's getting scared so I follow the order and we are ushered away by another soldier along with Fulvia and her cameraman and into the Justice Building to get in the bunker there. The soldier insists it's the safest, most secure bunker. When we get there we see that Haymitch, Carper, Nelia, and a few others with us from District 13 are already there but not all of them. One of the District 13 soldiers informs us that the rest are helping out with the fighting still and they'll be alright. They're trained for this sort of thing.

The bombs from this bunker that's dark save for the one light bulb hanging from the ceiling makes the bombs from above sound almost distant, barely audible. I sit down on the ground and Kennie crawls onto my lap before burying her face into my chest as my arms go protectively around her, the fighting and bombs and fire too much for such a little girl. I feel instantly guilty that I let her come with me to hit the hovercraft at all. Why did I do that? Must have been the alcohol talking no matter how much the adrenaline sobered me. Some mother I am.

"The papers!" Carper exclaims in a panic after about ten minutes of silence and I look at him funny.

"Papers?" I question him. What papers could there possibly be to make him this frantic?

"In the office here, we have all our documents and secrets for the rebellion. We can't just let them turn to dust." Carper explains with a half panicked expression.

"Are ya really suggesting that you're going back out there?" Haymitch exclaims in disbelief, clearly wasted. In fact, I can see a large pitcher of the alcohol sitting next to him and I try not to roll my eyes. Of course even during a bombing he wouldn't let the alcohol burn, especially when he's probably been sober for months.

"You don't understand, those papers have vital information that we need to save. It could be the difference between whether this district takes control or not." The soldier that brought us in here informs, clearly just as panicked as Carper.

"I'm going to get them." Carper exclaims and I look at him incredulously.

"What? There are bombs far too close to here." I half yell. He can't be serious.

"I'll be fine, it will just take a minute. I know exactly where they are." Carper tries to calm me as he gets up with determination. I sigh and roll my eyes at him but he ignores me, clearly on a mission.

"I'll go with you." Nelia insists, and before I can even protest more they're opening the door to the bunker and closing it again. I wonder what is so important in those papers that they would go off into a bombing zone to get them. Not that I expect anyone to tell me.

The minutes go by slowly and I half believe that it's just me slowing down time as Nelia and Carper haven't gone back. But when the District 4 soldier starts looking worried I know it's not just me. What's taking them so long? Why aren't they back yet?

All of a sudden the bunker shakes and an ear shattering sound takes over as the air and the bunker vibrates and I have a feeling that the Justice Building just got hit. Kennie screams and I hold her closer to me, wishing I could have protected her better. But then a thought takes over me. The Justice Building must have just been bombed where we are…and Nelia and Carper aren't in here.


	7. Inform

Katniss's POV

We are in a safe bunker under the Justice Building in District 4. The Justice Building has most likely just been bombed by the Capitol, but the bunker saved us from any harm. Nelia and Carper were in the Justice Building getting rebellion papers when it was bombed. Nelia and Carper are most likely dead.

Really, I probably should be more positive even if it's just for Kennie's sake and hope that they are alive and I'm just worried for nothing. But really, that's not me and it never has been. I've seen and heard too much in this world to be hopeful for the best and in situations like these I've found it's best to prepare yourself for the worst so that you're not caught off guard by your immediately following emotions when it does happen, and if it's not the worst you feel something like relief because you know it could have been worse.

"Mommy?" I hear Kennie mumble into my chest where her head has been buried for a majority of the time we've been down here, however long that may be.

"Hmm." I sound, dreading the question that's sure to come. What am I going to tell her about Nelia and Carper up there? I really don't know anything for sure and she's only seven. A seven year old that has seen and heard far too much to be too innocent, I realize. She's been around the Hunger Games, the Capitol, hunting and training and seeing death in front of her own eyes in an arena just like me. Maybe she could handle some small truth; I really would not like to lie to her, even if it's something this bad.

"Why are there fire and bombs?" she questions me as she pushes herself a little away from me so that her curious grey eyes can look at my face when I answer her. Well that was definitely not what I was expecting her to ask and it shows in my hesitancy.

"Because there's a war going on. The Capitol doesn't like that the people here want to get away from them telling them what to do." I try to explain more in her words after a pause. There's really not going to be much I can do to protect her from seeing what we will find when we eventually get out of this bunker. It's not going to be pretty, that's for certain.

"So what do they do back? Hide like we are?" she asks me after thinking on that. I shake my head.

"No, they fight back. We fought back too shooting with our bows." I remind her. Honestly I'm not sure how much it helped either, especially given the damage I could see before we came down here. But I'm not going to tell her that. She may not be quite as innocent as a child should be but she's still a little girl.

"Did it help?" asks Kennie, and I'm about to shrug in response when one of the soldiers from District 4 down here with us answers her.

"Why don't we go find out, shall we?" He replies to her and gestures for all of us down here to go up the stairs and face the world. All of us quietly go up the stairs and the immediate destruction around us is evident, but from the District 4 soldiers helping us out I think that they had to clear some debris from the trap door so that we could get out. They must have been pretty near if it didn't take that long. One of them offers to show Kennie and I around so that we can survey the damage and I agree, seeing that the rest of them are looking around what was the Justice Building, clearly looking for bodies, not living people. I try to not sigh in the heavy sadness and guilt I feel and follow the soldiers with Kennie at my side.

We climb to a rooftop, I think it may be the same one that we were shooting on just an hour ago maybe. Or was it shorter than that? I can't tell, this day has been so long and it's already dark outside. District 4, however, is anything but dark. The fires from the bombs are still burning but it's clear that the bombing is done with. Half of the villages are on fire, the burial site is still a gigantic bonfire, and in general from what I can see at least most of the surrounding buildings from this point have been decimated from what was once a town. But maybe a mile away from here I can see it; a sort of pile up of hovercrafts, three of them burning in a large pile with a three more scattered around in the land that surrounds District 4.

"We got five of them?" I ask, incredulous. I mean I really wasn't counting, but that's definitely a lot.

"No, we took down four of them. The bottom on that pile up is yours." He informs me grimly.

"Oh." I answer. Guess we won't be leaving here anytime soon. Not that I was entirely thrilled to go back to District 13 in its underground greyness and organization. But at least the family is safe there and I hope that we can somehow get a message to them that we're alright too.

"You may be here for a few days." He replies with what I kind of already figured out and I nod in response.

"How many were there?" Kennie asks, tugging on the man's shirt to get his attention.

"There were seven in all." The soldier informs her, and then smiles as he points to one at the top of the pile, the Capitol symbol still incredibly visible through the burning. "You see that one?" he asks her and she nods. "That one you took down."

Kennie's face lights up at once. "Really? I did that? Did it help?"

"Yes you did." The man smiles again at her. "And yes that helped a lot."

"But everything is burning right? How did one thing help?" Kennie asks and I answer her.

"It's the little things Kennie. We showed the Capitol that we can fight back. We showed them that they can burn us but we can burn them back." I tell her, and while I am I realize how true my words ring. Really, I don't think that the Capitol realized how much we can do to fight. They may have overruled us for eighty four years but all that did was leave us with a will power and plenty of reasons to fight. Plenty of reasons to take what was rightfully ours to begin with. End the tyranny and the harm and the abuse that the Capitol has done. Really, the Capitol might come crashing down because they didn't see that coming. People who have nothing to lose fighting against them in the districts.

"So it's like fighting fire with fire?" Kennie asks and I nod, wondering where she heard that line before. I've certainly never told her it.

"Yes. And if the Capitol fights with our fire…" I begin, looking over to the pile of hovercrafts and I have to smirk a little. "They're going to get burned."

After a minute of silence in the deep thinking of my true words, a soldier interrupts it. "Excuse me Kat…um Mrs….Soldier…Hawthorne?"

I have to smile at the man who clearly doesn't know what to call me. It's not like it's really new to me after all these years with people who don't know me. "Katniss." I insist on and he gives me a nod with relieved eyes that I didn't get mad at him or anything.

"Right. Katniss, a word please?" He questions me, and I look down to Kennie.

"I'll watch her." The other soldier up here with us insists and I nod in relief. I really didn't want to leave her all by herself and it's not like I'm going to leave this roof.

"Kennie, can you stay with him for a minute?" I ask her, nodding to the soldier whose been up here with us the whole time. "I'll just be over there talking to him." I inform her and she nods.

"Okay." She agrees and turns to the soldier, firing away at the questions and I have to smile a little. That man really didn't know what he was getting himself into with her. After following the other soldier to a corner as far away as we can get from Kennie and the other one he begins speaking.

"We have taken the district." He informs me and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Really?" I question him. With all the damage done here I didn't think that taking down a whole four hovercraft would do much.

"Yes, just about twenty minutes ago. During the chaos we were able to take the remaining buildings and organizations that we needed to overthrow any resistance here with the codes from our rebellion papers." He explains and I can't help but feel a little hope. If they got the rebellion papers then maybe Nelia and Carper weren't in the Justice Building when it was bombed after all. They could be totally fine and it would explain why they hadn't come back yet if they were bringing the papers to them.

"So Nelia and Carper got them to you?" I ask hopefully, but my hope instantly fades when he shakes his head.

"No, we already had them before the bombing. Earlier we decided that the Justice Building might not have been the safest place for them, especially once the hovercraft showed up on our radar. We moved them hours ago." He explains with a grimace.

"But they…" I begin to argue again, but suddenly it makes more sense and it's most likely what I feared. Nelia and Carper were in the Justice Building still when it was bombed because they didn't know that the papers had already been moved. They must have been looking for them still because they weren't where Carper thought they were.

"We know." He says with such a heavy expression that I know preparing myself for the worst was the best way to go. Doesn't make it much better to take though. "We found them buried in the rubble not far from your bunker."

"So they're dead?" I finally ask with a heavy sigh, knowing it's the most likely answer.

"Carper most likely has lost use of his legs because they were crushed and he's unconscious, but he has a pulse. It's barely there, but he is alive at the moment." He informs me and I feel a little relief. That was definitely better than I was expecting, although it's still awful. But at least he's alive.

"And Nelia?" I question him. He gulps and the silence, the hard, apologetic stare is my answer. Exactly what I was not hoping for. Nelia survived the Hunger Games only to be crushed to death by the District 4 Justice Building bombed by the Capitol.

If I didn't have enough fiery anger to fight with already now the flames have only grown stronger.

Gale's POV

You'd think after all these years of being in prep, the Capitol, being on that stupid stage with Ceaser I'd be used to it by now. Turns out I'm not. I still hate the Remake Center, still hate the Capitol (and now even more after the hell I've been through since the Capitol took me from the arena), and I still don't like Ceaser all that much. But here I am again.

Remake Center was bad, but it mostly just made me angry. The prep team must have known about my torturing because they didn't show any surprise when they saw the physical results of it still there, but it wasn't their reactions I was really going for. They covered up all the scars and bruises and cuts with make up so that it appeared that I was totally fine but I hated that. I wanted the whole of Panem to see them, show them how truly horrible the Capitol is. Oh sure I can show my pain on the television even though they wouldn't like that but without most of the physical evidence I probably couldn't get as many people to believe me. I want to help this rebellion in any way I can even though it will probably only result in more torture for me. I don't really give a shit.

The torture has actually been better as of late, but I have a feeling that has less to do with mercy or compassion and more to do with that rebel doctor on my torture team. Most of the physical torture stopped about a week and a half ago I'd guess (I honestly don't know how long I've been here and it's not like they'd really tell me) and they've been injecting me with some kind of shit and making me watch videos. The videos all feature me with Katniss and Kennie or just them; our 'live reunion' in the Capitol after her Games, our Capitol wedding, the first interview with Kennie, and birthday parties for Kennie at Snow's mansion among a few other things. I really don't know what this is for but whatever it is it seems not to be working. In fact, all the videos have done is resolve me further and lift my spirits a ton. If I can't really be with them or see them then the videos are certainly the next best thing. I have a feeling it's not working because of that doctor, though I still have no idea what it is he's doing to make whatever they're trying to do not work.

Even if it's not working, they still want me to do an interview today with Ceaser, something about how rebellion is bad and all that shit. Want me to harm the rebels, not help them under the pretense that if I comply then they won't harm anyone I love afterwards. I know it's a bunch of bullshit and they're trying to get me to get Katniss to call a ceasefire again. Honestly, if she hadn't called it before I'm not sure why they would think she would now. Especially since she doesn't know what I know, what the doctor slipped 'accidentally' to me…at least not yet.

As they sit me down for the interview with Ceaser in the chair next to me, I can tell he's trying to hide his distress and clearly not that comfortable doing this interview with me but he must. I wonder why he's almost visibly uncomfortable until I glance over to where the cameras are and I see Snow lurking behind them, glaring at us (well mostly me) and I don't have to wonder anymore. Clearly Snow's not trying to hide how much he hates me even from some of his citizens. But the real ones that matter aren't here, as this interview doesn't have an audience. Well, not exactly what I was hoping for but I'm not backing down from my plan.

The lights come on for the camera and Ceaser somehow manages to put on his stage mask and starts the interview. "Hello folks and welcome back. We have a very special guest here with us tonight, someone you all know and love, Gale Hawthorne!"

Fake cheers from some sound system play before he presses a button and takes down a map of Panem, lighted areas for some districts that are explained as bad weather or such that I try not to roll my eyes at. Really, they're trying to play off the rebellion and the lack of supplies coming from those districts as bad weather? How fucking naive do they think even the Capitolites are?

"Now Gale, would you like to explain this map to our lovely citizens of Panem? Show them what happens when you press this button?" Ceaser asks me, trying to hand me the clicker thing he used to take down the map. I stare at the map for a moment before looking back to him, studying it. I easily find District 13 and I can only pray that Katniss is watching. I need her to be watching because she might be the only person who will believe me. I need her to believe me and get everyone to safety.

"No, not really." I finally answer and Ceaser looks taken aback. I can feel Snow's snakelike eyes attempting to burn a hole through my head but I don't care. If he wants me to be on camera live then I'm going to do this my way. I already know he wouldn't dare kill me, he needs something to hold over Katniss to make her think twice before doing things.

"Oh?" is all Ceaser can answer, clearly not expecting me to be so rash and bold even though he probably expected me to not quite play along.

"Yes. What I want to say is we all know there's a rebellion and uprisings going on. No hiding that." I boldly begin, knowing that at least this truth they can't get too mad at.

"Yes we do, and rebellion is not helpful to the country. You know that Katniss and dear Makenna were taken by the rebels and being held hostage in District 13." Ceaser tries to bring the interview around with but I'm not going to let him. I snort and I'm about to say something when Katniss's voice catches me off guard and my eyes instantly go to where her voice is. It's on a screen, the one that shows what's being shown to Panem. She and Kennie are shooting at hovercraft and talking, the words in fire burning, Fight fire with fire under them before a close up of the Capitol symbol on a burning hovercraft appears. The pictures aside from the words disappear before it goes back to our interview, both my and Ceaser's faces plastered in shock. Damn, I can't believe that. A propo, just like they've tried to make me do. For the rebellion and they got it here in the Capitol.

If I needed any more reason to fight back here I have it now. That was certainly a boost of confidence and I smirk. "Well look at that, I guess they don't want a ceasefire after all." I finally break the silence with.

Ceaser recovers and desperately tries to take it back now, Snow's presence and barely concealed anger making his even more uncomfortable. "But Gale, you know a ceasefire is the only way that they will not be harmed. That no one else will not be harmed."

In response I laugh, "No it's not. And really, I don't care what you do to me for saying that. As long as my wife and child are safe in District 13 I don't give a shit what happens to me."

I look right to Snow after saying that, my eyes burning with fight and I see him smirk a little. Really, he's not going to hide his hand any better than that? You would think for how sneaky the bastard is he would. But I see some peacekeepers coming for me and a frantic director about to tell his cameraman to turn off the camera. But I haven't warned her yet. I need to tell her so they can be safe.

"Katniss, they're bombing District 13 tonight! Get out!" I yell as the camera goes off and the peacekeepers come. They punch and kick me, trying to beat me into unconsciousness and from my weak state even though I try I can't fight them for too long. But before I slip into the darkness I get the satisfaction of Snow's surprised and angry face and I know everything will be alright. I warned them and Snow can't kill me. Nothing else matters.


	8. Doubts

Rory's POV

"Katniss, they're bombing District 13 tonight! Get out!" my brother yells to the cameras before they flicker on and off, switching between blackness and a cruel view of Gale getting beaten unconscious no doubt for his warning. Luckily Katniss and Kennie are in the newly overtaken as of yesterday District 4 and they're fine, so the warning Gale is sending actually won't hurt them like Snow I'm sure is intending. He clearly doesn't know that they are still in District 4 even though it was pretty obvious the film was taken there. They're safe enough; we're not.

"Where do we go?" I question Coin who is incredulously not watching the screen. She's not even appearing too alarmed though Gale just warned us about the bombing that will surely be coming sooner than later since we have been warned. No, all she's doing is looking at her damn maps and papers.

"I'm sorry, you said something Soldier Hawthorne?" she looks up and I barely contain my outrage. Are you kidding me? We just go warned that there's bombs coming our way and she's not even paying attention to me?

"Yeah, I said what are we doing? We need to get everyone to safety." I repeat, the annoyance clear in my voice.

In response Coin looks at me, "Nothing. It's just something to frighten us that the Capitol made him say so that we call a ceasefire. No need to panic because that is surely what they want."

…What? Is she freaking blind and deaf or just stupid? "Are you shitting me?" I finally think, but I think I actually say it out loud by the way everyone in Command is staring at me, dropping whatever they were doing. Well, while I have their silence might as well take advantage of it. "My brother would not have warned us unless he meant it. Don't you think I'd know if he was lying or not? Hell, he's been trying to help us the whole time practically, what makes you think he'd play by the Capitol's rules now?" I seethe, my voice ringing in the quiet room. Even the television screen has just gone black now; clearly they've had enough of showing what's really going on there.

"He's most likely been tortured and that can include some sort of mind twisting unfortunately. She may be right and there's nothing to worry about." Plutarch eventually recovers, trying to logic with me. But there is not logic to that argument; no matter if Gale's mind had been twisted or not he would never put Katniss, Kennie, or even the rest of us if he could help it in any danger what-so-ever. They all know he would have volunteered for Haymitch in the most recent Games if it came to that to protect Kennie; hell even with what played out he made it quite obvious that his every intention was to save her. Why aren't they remembering that?

Somehow I realize that this logic isn't the way to go; none of them understand family the way I or really anyone from the other districts do. So I decide to go for the other logical argument that they can't possibly ignore. "Are you kidding? He's being beaten unconscious for warning us and you think that they made him say that? Katniss isn't even here and he obviously doesn't know that! Why else would he tell her? He knows she would listen to him just like I am!" I yell, trying to get them to understand. Really, the bombs could come any minute, especially now that we're warned.

Groans and sighs fill the room, but I know I've gotten to at least a few of them. But not Coin. She sighs audibly again and points to some buttons on her desk. "Soldier Hawthorne, I press that button and it means that we have a level 5 emergency. The entire population will move to the deepest levels where we will pointlessly use generators and our emergency supplies, our patients will panic at their removal and while it must be orderly there would surely be some chaos involved. I do not intend to press that button unless I am absolutely positive there is that kind of threat coming, which whether you believe your brother or not, I do not."

Is she insane? Probably. I pretend to look defeated as I drift over towards the desk, watching to look at the blank television and brooding in silence. As soon as Coin turns her attention away from me I slam my fist into the button that she pointed out, the sirens starting immediately and ordering everyone to the lower levels. Everyone looks at me in surprise but instead of smirking like I want to I give them a dead serious expression, showing them that I'm not playing around.

"I suggest if you would like to be alive in the morning you follow what the sirens are telling you to do." I state before walking out the door, not even bothering to look back. If they don't want to believe me they'll pay the ultimate price. For their stupidity.

Shockingly enough though, they do end up following me and all of District 13 ends up in the lower levels about five minutes later, the missleproof doors locking in place. One of Coin's lackeys (I mean 'personal soldiers') pulls me into what is basically the Command room down here and Coin turns on me, her face twisting into an angry expression. Honestly, I'm impressed that she can contort her face into one. I didn't think it was physically possible for her to show any emotion at all.

"I must say, I believe the name Hawthorne has become synonymous with the word trouble as of late." Coin states dryly, but the angry undertones are clear. I'm about to reply to that insult (even though it's probably half true in at least the Capitol's eyes) when there's a shaking of the entire place, a loud shattering sound vibrating and damn near making me lose my balance. I would panic until I realize it's exactly what I predicted. What Gale warned us about not ten minutes ago; the bombing of District 13 has come this afternoon instead of tonight, probably because we were warned.

I finally let a smirk grace my face as I answer Coin. "Maybe we are trouble. But sometimes Hawthorne is synonymous with the word savior too."

The faces in this room are priceless, clearly most of them unbelieving at how right I am. Or that I just basically smart-talked the President of District 13. But I really don't care; I think I proved my point. With my smirk still plastered on my face I break the silence with, "You're welcome." before turning out the door to find our bunker down here. Let's see if they ever doubt a Hawthorne again.

Somehow I doubt it.

Effie's POV

Walking down the colorful streets of the Capitol in my fashionable wigs and clothing, somehow it feels wrong for the first time in my life. Everyone here is aware of a rebellion going on by now but I don't think that they quite understand what is really happening. Or honestly, why the districts would want to rebel in the first place. To be honest I don't quite understand all of it myself, but I do know one thing; Katniss and dear Makenna would not have done that video unless they knew it was for the good of Panem. And poor Gale, he would not have tried to warn them to go into safety unless he knew about it, knew it was no joke. So when there came the news that District 13 was indeed paying the price for their rebellious spirits not fifteen minutes after the interview with Ceaser, there were cheers from some but I could not cheer.

How could President Snow order the bombs now? All Gale was trying to do was warn his family to be safe and I find myself hoping that they listened to him. Something was off…the Capitol was not the place I've thought it to be all my life. We were taught in school as well as growing up that the Capitol ruled because we were the best, that the districts deserved what they got for inciting rebellion before. That it was natural for us to receive everything from them. That rebellion was bad. And I did believe it, but now…I can't help but feel some kind of…horror (if that's the word) that President Snow would so blatantly destroy District 13 yet again, and sooner just because they were warned. It's so…cruel.

After shaking my head at the screens when the bombing was played yesterday I briskly walked away, finding myself glad that I planned the rebellious interview outfits and demeanors months ago though no one knows it. Poor Cinna took all the blame and responsibility for that and I have a strong feeling he paid the price for it; another thing I didn't believe President Snow would do. I mean yes, it was quite rebellious, especially now that I know that the bird Cinna turned Makenna's dress into was a phoenix, the symbol of the rebellion. But we're Capitolites; surely that means something. Surely that should mean that we shouldn't be judged as harshly, shouldn't it? Apparently not. Maybe I've been on the wrong side all of my life. If we here in the Capitol cannot express our true feelings then what of Panem?

When I walked into my apartment after they showed the bombing I was in for a surprise. I shrieked when I turned on the lights, seeing a strange bald man there that I didn't know. Very well almost gave me a heart attack and I barely managed not to faint.

"Effie Trinket?" the man asks me and dumbfounded, I nod. I still don't know why a strange man is in my apartment but he doesn't seem threatening. Not that I believe any Capitolite really is…well maybe other than President Snow I'm coming to realize.

"My name is Dr. Calvus. You were the escort for District 12, correct?" he questions me. A doctor? Why is a doctor questioning me about my job?

"Yes I am. Or was anyway." I answer, not entirely sure if that's even a job anymore, what with the current state of the country and half of the districts out of the Capitol's control I'm not quite sure there is a Hunger Games anymore.

"I'm part of Mr. Hawthorne's…team at the moment, but I assure you I am a part of the rebellion. I was wondering if you could help us out." Dr. Calvus informs me and I don't quite understand at first. Team? Team for what exactly? Why would Gale need a team if all they are doing is simply holding him?

"Confused?" Dr. Calvus asks me with a grim smile and I nod a little, ashamed I am. "The team…is for his torture Ms. Trinket."

"Torture? Only criminals would be tortured and they are all either avoxes or dead from a lethal injection." I protest, going back to my schooling. It was never my favorite subject learning about our justice system but we all knew that torture only came to those who deserved it.

"Yes, torture. Mr. Hawthorne as well as Mr. Odair and others are in a facility about a half hour from here. First they were tortured for information but as of late Mr. Hawthorne's has been more of a…mind torture you might say." Dr. Calvus explains and I just shake my head wanting to forget everything. Torture…Gale and Finnick? What have they possibly done to deserve such treatment?

"Mind torture?" I question him, not entirely sure what that means.

Dr. Calvus sighs, "Yes, mind torture. Trying to alter his mind so that we can control him. Luckily the hijacking with tracker jacker venom did not work because I changed it but now…they're trying a new method and I'm sorry to say it's working. It wasn't my idea and they agreed and started it without me."

"How horrible." I gasp, unbelieving that the Capitol would do that to someone who has nothing against them other than trying to save his family.

"Yes it is. I wish I could have stopped this but I couldn't do much without giving myself away as a rebel and at least for a few more days I need to appear I'm not. Which is where I was hoping you would come in to help us." Dr. Calvus claims and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"What could I do to help?" I ask, baffled. I'm just an escort that isn't quite sure anymore that my home is what it appears to be.

"Can I trust you Ms. Trinket?" he questions me and I nod confidently. He studies me for a minute and I try not to appear uncomfortable under the scrutiny. But apparently he's deemed me trustworthy because he finally continues.

"We plan to break out all the prisoners in three days' time with the help of some District 13 soldiers. What we would need you for is a distraction so that our plan can go off without a hitch." he reveals.

"What kind of distraction?" I question him, relieved that the torture of those I actually know will end soon. If I can help poor Gale get back to those he loves then it will be worth it, especially since he has most likely been tortured for over two months.

"Anything really. Something big so that all of the peacekeepers and President Snow's attention is on that, not the breakout. The less people who can fight the rebels the better." He suggests and I think hard. What could I do…I am a planner, I could really do anything. Hmm…oh yes, yes that could work.

I smile at Dr. Calvus, knowing I have a lot of planning to do tonight. "Dr. Calvus, I assure you that my plan will be plenty distracting and I wish for the best on your end."

"Thank you." he replies, clearly relieved. "We would have had them do it but Katniss and Makenna aren't in District 13 right now and with the district currently under fire no film can easily get to them."

"They're not?" I ask, surprised. I thought the whole point of Gale warning Katniss was because she actually was in District 13. Or maybe he just assumed they were like I and everyone else.

"Not at the moment but I assure you they are safe." Dr. Calvus says before getting up and offering me his hand to shake. I do but instead of shaking my hand he places something in it; a cracker with some sort of bird on it, I think a phoenix. "Welcome to the rebellion Ms. Trinket."

As he walks away and quietly shuts the door I stare at the cracker in my hand for a moment before placing it in my mouth to get rid of the evidence.

Rebel Effie Trinket here, planning for duty. I quite like the sound of that.

?'s POV

I've been here for years, presumed dead. By my family, the district, everyone really except for the people here and President Snow. Sometimes I wish I really was dead; I haven't seen sunlight since I came here and my olive skin has faded, my eyes sadly adjusted to darkness. They've used me, kept me here for several reasons. Really I could be alright with some of them but the most recent reason they've used me I despise.

While yes I actually have seen and talked to Gale again it only makes it worse. I know that they are trying to use me against him, make him comply with their demands. Make him think twice about what he says and does. He doesn't have his wife or daughter because they are safe so he knows they can't kill him. But he does know they could kill me. Really, that's the only thing stopping him from being full on rebellious I think but I wish he wouldn't I wish he would have listened to me, done everything he should and would like to because what do I matter? He's already mourned me, presumed me dead for years and years. What difference would it make really? Just because I've come back from the dead in his mind? It's not like life here has much worth living though I'm happy to have seen him again, learn of everyone I love that I left behind. It's enough that I really don't care what happens to me anymore. The escape would be nice to be honest.

Dr. Calvus comes in, that wonderful man on our side and I'm happy to have a visitor. He sits down with a small smile but I can tell something is wrong.

"He's rebelling still I see." I question with a little smirk, knowing there are cameras in here. We will have to talk in code but I know he will tell me the truth.

"He's trying but we've come up with a counter effect. A new hijacking technique and I'm happy to say it's working." Dr. Calvus informs me, obviously trying not to grimace. Oh great, he obviously couldn't stop this one. Maybe since it's new he just didn't know how unlike with tracker jacker venom. Or maybe Snow was catching on.

"He'll fight through it." I reply with confidence, knowing Gale is strong.

"I don't believe so." Dr. Calvus doubts, and the way he says it makes me believe that it's the truth.

"He will." I protest but I know it's futile. Dr. Calvus would have given me some hope if there was any.

"Only if the gods will it." Dr. Calvus jokes, but I know it's code. Only if the rebels can take care of it he's saying.

"Are you telling me the gods are going to take him away and kill him and that will be the end?" I ask, really asking so are the rebels finally coming to break him out?

Dr. Calvus laughs for the cameras, "Death would be mercy. But who knows, maybe if it does come to him death will take you too."

He says it meanly but I know it's just for anyone watching. I know what he really means. Yes they are coming, and soon. They may take you too. Somehow I don't believe they will take me but I can't help but be a little hopeful.

"Presumed dead is almost death anyway. I would welcome it." I reply with a smirk and he rolls his eyes in 'annoyance.'

"Please Mr. Hawthorne, don't kid yourself. You would think after all these years you would be used to it by now." Dr. Calvus claims as he gets up and I roll my eyes at his back but on the inside I'm truly uplifted. Yes, they are finally coming to get us. The torture will end.

The 'dead' will come back to life.


	9. Secretive

Katniss's POV

"What do you mean 13's being bombed? What happened?" I question Haymitch in a half panic, who is annoyingly his drunk self again. I suspect he more than anyone is happy to be stranded in District 4 just because no one can stop him from drinking. Not that it isn't that hard in 13 considering there is no alcohol to be found but still.

"The kid warned em on a Ceaser interview thing, said it was planned. They got ta safety right before the bombs came even though they were supposed ta be that night." Haymitch informs me. Wait…Gale warned them? How did he even know? I suddenly feel guilty that I didn't see it. I mean I know it wouldn't have been good but at least I would have seen him alive, seen how he really was.

"So he saved them?" I ask, relieved that for whatever reason Gale had this information. I don't know who would have told him but it couldn't have possibly been Snow. But it really doesn't surprise me in the least somehow. Gale always tries to protect the people he loves and our families are still there. I can't be grateful nor more relieved that at least they haven't taken that away from him.

"Yea but just barely. Said he tried to tell you but ya weren't there so the mini kid forced them ta go to safety cuz they didn't believe im." Haymitch replies in a half slur and I squint as I try to figure it out. He's trying to tell me…Gale tried to tell me to get to safety? But I'm here, not in District 13; I didn't even see the interview. But maybe he thought I was. After all, the Capitol might not have realized that our hovercraft was on the ground here and got smashed to pieces so that we had to stay. Maybe everyone thinks that we made it back fine a few days ago. Guess that's a good thing. For once something is showing that Snow doesn't know everything anymore which means his power is diminishing, if only by a little. But then there's the other part. Mini kid? Who on earth is that? But from what I think Haymitch said whoever it was made them go into safety so they're fine.

"Who's mini kid?" I question him, annoyed not for the first time that Haymitch doesn't call practically anyone by their real name. I mean I've gotten used to it by now but most of them I know by now. Doesn't mean it annoys me any less.

"Rory sweetheart, Rory." he answers, clearly annoyed that I didn't know that and I roll my eyes at him. So Rory made them listen because I wasn't there to do it myself? Glad he came through though it shouldn't surprise me much. He is a lot like Gale after all.

"Alright. Anything else?" I ask, sort of hoping there isn't so I can help the cleanup of the district. A lot was decimated but all in all it doesn't seem so bad that the district is uninhabitable unlike 12 or 7 which I haven't been to but I'm sure is pretty similar to my decimated home. Really I still feel bad that it was sort of my fault for the bombing even though everyone has assured me it was already planned. It's the least I can do to help fix the mess I helped make.

"Yea. Breakout's in a few days or so." Haymitch replies and for the first time in a while I feel myself being hopeful. Breakout? They're finally going to get them out? They're finally going to bring Gale and Finnick out of that torture zone? I crack a relieved smile at that as Haymitch snorts and swigs from his ever present bottle again.

"Thank you." I whisper even though I'm not entirely sure Haymitch had anything to do with it. But still, he gave me the good news. He nods it off as I go to help clean up again but this time with a smile on my face. It may seem a little ridiculous seeing as I'm in the middle of a cleanup for a bombing, District 13 is currently being bombed, and in general this is such a horrible time. But that little piece of good news just lifts my spirits somehow. It's most definitely not a common feeling but I like it. Gale's coming back.

I quickly go back to where the team I was assigned to is gathering near what is District 4's Victor Village and find that they are dispersing already, walking towards different houses in pairs.

"What are we doing?" I question the leader of the group, a Lieutenant Weever that looks to be about mid-forties and has clearly spent most of his life at sea with his leathered brown skin and sun bleached hair threaded with a few strands of grey. In general I like him. He jokes around with our group but always makes sure that whatever we're doing gets done.

"We're all going through the village looking for anything useful for information as we know that a majority of the Victors here were a part of the rebellion." Weever informs me and I can't help my grimace. We're going through their private homes? I can't see many of them liking that. I know I wouldn't want someone going through my things even if it was for the best intent. Although my house is a burned pile of rubble now so it's not like anyone really could anymore…

"I assure you it's alright. Carper has already given his permission and he assures us that Finnick and Annie would not mind in the least if we could ask them." Weever assures me. I know Carper finally came to consciousness yesterday, crushed when he realized that Nelia had died. He didn't even seem to care too much that he would most likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. And I'm sure Finnick wouldn't mind at all with how involved he apparently was.

"What about the others?" I ask. Really, just because I don't know them as well and they aren't here it somehow doesn't seem right to go through their homes. Weever gives me a sigh and a small, sad smile.

"We cannot possibly ask them because they are deceased Mrs. Hawthorne." He informs me grimly and my mouth opens in half surprise and confusion.

"All of them? How?" I question him once I've recovered from my minor shock.

"Two died in the bombing a few days ago helping us and one more died this morning from her injuries. Actually, it was her idea to scour the village here for anything useful." Weever tells me as I shake my head.

"What about the rest?" I ask. I know there were at least ten here and those three plus Carper, Finnick, and Annie only makes six. What happened to the other four?

"Do you not know what happened during the breakout from the arena?" Weever asks me, clearly confused that I don't know already. I shake my head feeling a little guilty. I really don't remember anything at all of that day other than the crushing grief that Kennie was dead and I haven't really asked what exactly happened even though I probably should have. "When Makenna woke in the arms of the hovercraft claw the Victors apparently knew that the plan had gone wrong somehow. The peacekeepers came into the Mentor Room and one of the Victors locked them in and the others out. All those involved with the rebellion pulled out their weapons and fought with the peacekeepers."

My mouth drops open in true surprise though I'm not sure I should be after everything. "Really?" I choke out.

Weever nods and continues, almost looking like he thinks he shouldn't but does anyway. "Yes. While they did take quite a few peacekeepers out many of the Victors died in that fight, especially when more peacekeepers broke through. Anyone with a weapon still alive when it was over was killed for treason."

My hands go to my face and I hide behind them for a minute as this sinks in. Anyone in that mentor room a part of the rebellion died. Those four clearly. But I'm sure there are plenty of others…Chaff…Cecilia…Blight…all the rest I may not know as well but still I feel guilty over their deaths. Really, how many Victors are left now? How many more can they possibly take?

All of us I realize. They could kill every last one of us and not feel the slightest bit of pain or guilt. But no more, I won't let them take any more of us if I can help it. They already altered all of us for life, made us fight for our lives. The least they can give us is to actually allow us to live.

"Are you alright?" Weever's voice asks, the concern clear in his tone. He must realize that this may have been too much. But it's not, not really. What's one more thing on top of the pile at this point? I remember why he told me this in the first place and I know we need to get going. Really, now I understand. If I was dead and I had information to help save other lives I would be happy that others were taking the chance to get it.

"Yes. Let's go searching." I reply and he nods though I'm seriously doubting he thinks I'm alright. "Who's are we going to?" I ask. Not that it really matters too much but I just want to know for my sake. I did know most of the Victors here at least a little bit.

"Finnick and Annie's place." He informs me and I can't help but feel a little relieved even if that sounds a little strange. Sure they are actually both alive (or at least I think Finnick is) and it's kind of weird to go into someone's house when they aren't there, but Finnick is kind of like family and I have been there before. It's somehow easier to swallow than going through a dead Victor's things.

Weever and I easily find their home, originally just Finnick's but since he would never allow Annie to live by herself and Annie's family didn't quite know how to deal with her besides the fact that only Finnick could calm her down, she's been living with him for years. When we approach their house I easily find the spare key under a shell decorating the porch much to Weever's surprise and amusement and open the door.

With the stale feeling in the air and a fine layer of dust coating everything you can tell no one has been here for a while. How long has it been really? When did they take Annie to District 13? The day of the reaping maybe? Two and a half months ago? Three? It's really a short amount of time if you think about it but it seems like years. Now that I'm actually here I feel more uncomfortable but it's not that I feel strange about scouring the house anymore. It's the contrast with the last time I was here that's getting to me.

It was Nelia's Victory tour and while she was getting ready we came here right after a swim in the ocean where we began to teach Kennie how to swim. Annie was actually almost normal and she even cooked us a meal of fried fish, salad, and mashed potatoes with sugar cookies for dessert. And though it was November it was relatively warm here still and the sun shined through those windows by the table brightly, enhancing the already happy atmosphere. We ate the delicious food and joked around, happy to be in each other's company.

That warm happy memory doesn't have a place in the deserted home now somehow though the house hasn't changed much. The windows are still brightly lighting the area where we ate but instead of shining on the pots that held our food they clearly show the layer of dust on the table and chairs. The light atmosphere has become heavy with the stale air and I can't help but miss that day even if I know the rebellion is for the greater good. But I steel myself to shake off the feeling and determined, know we should start looking around.

"Where first?" I ask, not knowing where to start. Really, where would someone keep hidden information? I know that they said they swept for bugs and cameras before we came in so anything they were trying to hide probably couldn't be somewhere obvious.

"You might know better than me. You've been here before, haven't you?" Weever questions me and I nod.

"Yes, once. I was just thinking of how happy I was then and how dark and dusty everything is now." I explain, not quite sure why I am telling him this.

He nods in understanding though and I relax a little. "Don't worry; we're going in the right direction. We'll all be better for it soon."

Yeah, better or dead. But I don't say that and offer him a small smile. Now to business. Where would I hide secret information? Well the first thing that comes to my mind is the woods but that's just me really. Besides, there really aren't any woods here and I can't see Finnick hiding anything in the ocean. Not because he couldn't find anything to put it in but because it could so easily be just accidentally or on purpose be found by the wrong people. So if I couldn't hide it in the woods and I knew there were cameras around what would I do? Maybe something that didn't seem suspicious or somewhere outside of the house, somewhere close enough but far enough away from the cameras to see. Maybe a cellar or something?

"Maybe we should split up? Look through the bedrooms or living room for any hidden places or maybe somewhere outside?" I offer as a suggestion and he hums in agreement.

"It's not a bad place to start." He concedes, "Would you like to look in here or outside?"

"Outside." I choose almost instantly and with a grin I can tell he probably knew that was what I was going to pick. I may know Finnick and even Annie and I know they're alive, but being in their home still feels strange to me. At least if I'm outside the home it won't feel as strange.

"Alright." Weever says and we go our separate ways, me out the back door as he goes up the stairs.

I look around idly for a few minutes, more taking in the view of their backyard than really looking for a hiding place. The beach and the calm ocean is not too far from here and from a distance I can see a group of kids playing in the sand. While I can't make out faces or individuals it's not hard to tell that the one raven haired child is Kennie among the auburn and blonde heads. I hate to be away from her but I know that clean up would not only be boring for her but probably not the safest thing to do. Besides, I want her to have at least a little fun. She knows far too much for her own good and I can only hope that she can be as innocent as she possibly can be for as long as she can. I want her to be a child and play with other children like nothing's wrong even if practically everything is. But at least things are looking up as of late, what with Haymitch's assurance that the breakout is in a few days and Gale will be back. The addition of District 4 to the overthrown districts and the rest that haven't been there is fighting and in apparently District 8 they are close to taking it over. We're alive and so are our families. In the midst of everything that is wrong at least I have those little bits of hope.

I look around for a while starting at the base of the house and searching carefully for any sign at all of a hidden place or door or something to no avail. The ground seems to only be grass though I do randomly pull on some plants or grass just on the wildly off chance that it's a hidden door to something. All that gets me is some pulled flowers and grass stains from the recent rain. It's not until maybe two hours into searching when Weever calls my name from the kitchen window and I walk back to the house. He comes out the back door to greet me with a small black notebook in his hand with a lock of some sort on it.

"What is it?" I ask. He must think it's important if he has it but to me it just looks like a diary. I don't really know anyone who keeps one personally but maybe that's just because they haven't told me. I mean, it is supposedly a secret thing, right?

"I thought it was a diary because I had been going through books and notebooks looking for any evidence of information. It even has some sort of code lock on it but I don't know the code. But when I tried to open it and peek at the pages I saw some kind of language I didn't recognize and I thought maybe the whole thing was in code. It's the best I've found." Weever explains.

Secret code language? That would certainly seem like it could be hidden information. And assuming Finnick will actually be rescued in a few days and it's his he could easily tell us not only the code to get in but the code language. "Well I've found nothing so I guess this is our best bet."

So this is what we're left with. A diary with a five letter code to get in just to read something in an unknown code that may or may not be information we can use for the rebellion. Just once I wish something wasn't so secretive to me.


	10. Plans

Katniss's POV

The day after Weever found that coded journal a hovercraft finally came for us from District 13. We had tried to open it but since we didn't know the password random guessing wasn't getting us too far so after a few hours we gave up and hoped either for a spurt of spontaneous inspiration on what it could be or wait for Finnick to be rescued and hopefully he would tell us all about it. Besides, it's not like if we even could open it we could read it; I got a glimpse of the writing inside the journal that we can push back to see myself and I couldn't even tell you what language it was in. Certainly not English, that's for sure.

As I lead Kennie towards the hovercraft with Haymitch in tow carrying a few bottles of alcohol I'm sure he's going to try to sneak into 13 I look back at the district that has been my temporary home. From here you can still see the pile up of hovercrafts that no one really knows what to do with, the rubble of villages and town houses. And while we've spent day and night cleaning up it still looks like a warzone. But the beach is still there as well as the ocean, pristine and beautiful as ever. And the people here have not lost hope even if they have lost their homes because the district is currently not in the Capitol's grasp. Somehow I'll miss this place, warzone or not. But it's time to go back to District 13 so that we can all be free and safe. Time to get Gale back.

When we arrive back in 13 I realize the other reason I'll miss District 4; 13 is totally underground and I hate that. I guess I don't necessarily have to hunt to be alright but at least fresh air helps me feel better even if everything else has gone to pieces. As we get off the hovercraft I can't wait to see the family and assure myself that they are alright after the bombing which left a lot of the floors closer to the surface uninhabitable. But sadly Kennie and I are whisked off right away to Command. As we are I hear a grumbling coming from where we just exited and look back to see Haymitch's bag being searched and his hidden bottles being taken from him. I have to smirk a little even if that's kind of mean. What, did he really expect that he could get away with that? I shake my head at his frustration even as I turn the corner with a smile, somehow happy that he's getting a little of what he deserves for that 'emergency' of the hovercraft. Although I guess I should be a little grateful because I would have been worried sick not knowing if Kennie was safe or not with all those Capitol hovercraft coming at us.

As we are taken to Command I survey the damage and find that Gale's warning probably truly did save thousands of people. We're on level 22 now and there is still damage from missles that destroys compartments and such. Luckily most of the important things like supplies and farms are buried deep underground so they are fine, the population won't have to suffer that loss. Command was just barely not hit it seems as the damage seemed to finally stop two floors before we got there. And Command is just as busy as ever, even busier somehow though I don't know why. I'm surprised to see Rory there though I guess I shouldn't be if he's the one who made them listen and get everyone to safety. As soon as Kennie sees him she bounds over to him and starts talking excitedly about the last few days in District 4 and I give him a grateful smile before Plutarch catches me by surprise in a quick hug. He is grinning from ear to ear and I really don't understand why. Given the circumstances of 13 right now I can't see how anyone could be that happy.

"You were marvelous Katniss! Simply marvelous. You and Makenna gave us quite the footage to work with and we've already made several propos from it." Plutarch exclaims and I give him a small grin, a little unbelieving. What could they have really done? I didn't see anything but that may have been because we didn't exactly have a lot of power in District 4 because the bombs took out a lot of wires.

"Really?" I ask. "How much did they help?" I'm not entirely sure still how a video would help much other than making Snow angry. Not that that isn't a plus but still.

"Rebel forces in the last four days since the first propo was shown to all the districts and the Capitol has encouraged them. District 8 has been taken and the fighting is close to accomplishing their goals in all but Districts 1 and 2." Coin informs me. I can tell that she's a little peeved for some reason but what for I don't know. I'm honestly surprised that it worked so well in that short amount of time. Though it really doesn't surprise me in the least that the Career districts are obviously going to be the last to take.

"Wow." Is all I can whisper. I look around the room and see that a majority of the people in here are focused on the television screen and I walk over to where I can see it, curious. I stand next to Plutarch and take in the scene in front of me, one that I don't quite understand.

It's the Capitol for certain, something that is always on television for as long as I can remember. But this…this is something I'm positive I've never seen in the Capitol. The cameras are focused on the streets where I'd guess projectors show face after face of children, teenagers. Their names, ages, and districts are beneath them and most of the Capitolites have no clue what's going on but some of them seem to recognize the faces. I don't know really who they are but I have a strong feeling I should. It's not until I see familiar faces near the bottom of the buildings that I know who they are.

"Dead tributes? All of them?" I whisper and from the corner of my eye I can see Plutarch nodding. They're all there. The last girl from Gale's game, the one that was Cato's girlfriend. Jacob. Rue, Cato, Clove, Foxface, Marvel, Thresh. All those from mine in the order they were killed I think. And the other games too. All of our tributes we didn't save. Every last tribute that died in the Hunger Games. And at the bottom of the building bigger than most is the Victors and children that died in the last Hunger Games. It isn't until I'm confused to see Chaff's face as well as Cecilia's and some of the other Victors that I know weren't in those Games that I realize also what it is. Every last person who was a part of the Hunger Games that has died. So…all those mentors, just like Weever said. At the end of the row I find Nelia's picture and I can't help my eyes from tearing up just a little.

"What is this?" I whisper and Plutarch finally answers me.

"A distraction." He informs me and I finally tear my eyes away from the screen to look at him questioningly.

"Distraction? For what?" I ask and it's Rory that answers me from behind.

"They're breaking them out. This is all meant to take away the focus from that." He replies and I look first to him and the around the room and I have to smile a little. Yes, they're finally going to get them to safety! I'm a little surprised that Rory didn't insist on going himself with whoever went and I'm about to ask why but a strange noise coming from the screen distracts me and my attention turns back to that.

If the faces of all those tributes and Victors weren't enough to unnerve Capitolites and peacekeepers alike, this next development sure would be. People come out of building armed with weapons and I look at them incredulously as they fight the peacekeepers, killing some of them as more replace them. My mouth drops open in complete shock. Who are these people? They don't really look like Capitolites, not most of them. All of them are extremely thin like most Capitolites but it's a different kind of thin. Almost like the thin I was when I was half starving before my Games. Like they don't get near enough nourishment, just barely living. And every last one of them that I can see their faces has this look of fight in their eyes, clearly not caring if they die or not as they risk everything to take out a few peacekeepers.

"Who are they?" I finally ask aloud, amazed at these brave rebel Capitolites. If distraction was what they were going for they have certainly distracted me.

"Avoxes." Coin answers me in an almost bored voice. But that explains plenty to me and I no longer have to wonder a lot of things. Like why they would be so willing to go head on. Or why there are so many that don't look like Capitolites, like they are half starving. They are. They have nothing to lose and plenty to be angry at. Even as the number of avoxes dwindle and the peacekeepers numbers rise, a sea of white against people I can't take my eyes off of it.

And then incredulously the faces of the dead tributes still on the buildings begin to disappear one by one in order. But it's not that they are disappearing…no, they are being literally bombed out, cannons going off as each one is blown out, the building shattering with each cannon. It's so perfectly planned and symbolic that I have to applaud the people who came up with this.

"Who's idea was this?" I question the room and from the corner of my eye I see Plutarch smile and laugh lightly.

"Who do you think?" he asks me with a knowing smile and I'm a little annoyed that he won't just tell me but I guess anyway.

"I don't know. It's so perfectly thought out that I'd guess…well I don't know." I tell him, completely clueless.

"What if I told you that this was the handiwork of your old escort?" Plutarch reveals and I look back to the screen with a surprised expression.

"Effie did this?" I exclaim as I watch the perfectly executed plan as Snow comes on the screen, blocking us from seeing what is going on. He looks angry certainly but I really don't care what he has to say. Effie is a rebel? How did I not know that? Why on earth would Effie Trinket be a rebel, much less come up with this distraction?

"President Coin, the rescue team is on their way back. They have successfully broken out all the hostages at the prison." A soldier informs the room and I breathe a sigh of relief. I don't know why Effie is a rebel but one thing's for certain. Her distraction just helped save Gale and the others. He's finally coming back.

Johanna's POV

"Are you alright Miss Mason?" one of the medics ask me and I give him a glare and tell him for the fourth time I'm fine. It's just a little shrapnel in my shoulder, I've had worse. Sure it hurts like hell but I'm not one to complain about being hurt and they've already given me some pain meds to help me until we're back in District 13. All I really care about at the moment is that the mission worked. Finnick is alive and will no longer be tortured.

The plan went off without a hitch. Whatever the distraction was that they used worked perfectly because the only peacekeepers we had to deal with were the ones already there. Sure it was at least twenty or thirty of them but it could have been a lot worse. The team of ten of us split up, three going to dismantle a bomb a good twenty minutes away so the rest of us wouldn't get blown to smithereens when we broke into the prison and the rest of us armed with guns, grenades, and gas masks.

We were each assigned a different person in pairs and I insisted on being in Finnick's team. If they had fucked with his mind I would be the one person he might listen to in this group because we were best friends. Besides the fact that I just wanted to see him myself as soon as possible. I needed to know how badly they have damaged him, how much I need to hate Snow and the Capitol even more.

Turns out pretty badly. We had administered the sleep gas through the building but we got met with some of the doctors and nurses as well as a few peacekeepers. They grenaded us which is why I had shrapnel in my shoulder but I didn't let that stop me from shooting every last one of them. One of the doctors was on the phone calling for back up but luckily he didn't get it. One of the soldiers with us knocked him out and we went into Finnick's room. He was covered in some type of goo what I don't know. Underneath that were blisters and bruises and whipmarks, clearly the physical torture was not let up on in the least. His auburn locks have been shaved off and all that's left looks like a buzz cut. He certainly doesn't look much like himself but he's still Finnick. We easily take him out, me holding his feet as the other two with me take the other end and we race as fast as we can for the exit.

On our way to the hovercraft I see another two carrying Gale who mostly appears fine but you never know. The other two are carrying a woman I don't recognize but they put her in anyway. If she was here being tortured then she's no friend of the Capitol. But instead of leaving like I think we are a doctor comes out frantic, pleading us to take one more prisoner. I would guess this bald doctor is a rebel but I'm not certain. Even if my shoulder is hurting me like hell I volunteer to go back just out of sheer curiosity and two more soldiers do as well. This time we don't have anymore sleep gas but we just shoot anyone we come across as we quickly follow the doctor. He unfortunately gets shot right outside of the room he was trying to open but one of the other soldiers with me shoots the peacekeeper as well as the lock and we barge through. The person waiting for us, knocked out because of the original gas is someone I'm certain I've never met before but he looks…oddly familiar somehow.

It's not until I see the name on the outside of the door when we bring him out that I realize why he looks familiar. Gale had a relative here in the Capitol being tortured? I thought he was dead.

Just goes to show you that we really have no clue sometimes what the Capitol does. Good thing we're well on our way to bringing those bastards down and now they have no one left to threaten us with.

So yes, besides my shoulder hurting like a bitch, I'm just fine. "I'm doing great." I insist to the medic and while he doesn't look like he quite believes me I don't care. I wasn't talking about my shoulder anyway you idiot.

?'s POV

Groggy, I keep my eyes closed even when I'm awake because once I open my eyes I may be disappointed with where I am. I know that Dr. Calvus insisted that the rebels would try to break me out but he didn't promise. I knew when I started feeling sleepy for no reason that it was most likely some sort of sleep gas and the rebels were here. After all, there was really no reason to put me to sleep to torture me. No, they would have wanted me to suffer. Besides, most of the physical torture ended years ago. They needed me, used me, made me watch every Hunger Games. See my designs torture other children, even ones that I loved. I didn't know what they were used for but they threatened my family every single day if I didn't design for their Gamemakers. And even from afar, even if they thought I was dead all these years…I had to protect them.

Slowly I open my eyes and almost instantly I realize that I'm not in that Capitol prison anymore. No, this is too pristinely white, too busy with doctors and nurses running around not paying any attention to me. I'm not strapped down. And I realize how much I truly owe Dr. Calvus. He tried to get me to safety, out of prison and it worked. I'm no longer dead. I can see my family.

The first person I see when I look around happens to be Gale, as he is in the hospital bed right next to me. He's still out cold but I know he should come to soon. I still don't know what this new torture they did to him, this new hijacking is but it can't be good. All I can see is some bumps on his head that look like they could be concussions. I would know, I had quite a few when I didn't cooperate over the years.

Sitting next to him is a young woman holding his hand in hers and softly brushing back his hair, her eyes only on his face. I haven't seen her in years but I'd know her anywhere. Not only have I seen her on the television that I'm only allowed to watch when the Hunger Games comes on but I did know her when she was a little girl, once. I worked with her father and we both hunted. We always meant to bring our oldest out to meet each other in the woods eventually and I can't be happier they did. I'm so happy that they got what I had; love.

But she's never met me. I'm certain she knows about me but how should I go about introducing myself to her, someone who's mind is clearly occupied only on the man in front of her? She thinks I'm dead; everyone does.

Well, guess there's only one way a Hawthorne knows how to break the news; bluntly. I make a noise to get her attention even though she doesn't look.

"So, am I finally getting the honor of meeting my daughter-in-law?"


	11. Stories

Johanna's POV

I refused to have surgery but I did make sure to see Finnick before he was whisked away. All I let them do was take out the shrapnel and bandage it, a little morphling for the pain. Other than that I'm fine; I don't need anything else. On my way out I see Katniss half running to where Gale is, clearly relieved that he's alright. I can certainly relate on that one but I have other things to take care of.

As soon as we got back in the middle of me being stitched up Plutarch came to me, told me what Katniss and some soldier guy in District 4 found in Finnick and Annie's house. He described it to me as a black journal with a coded lock and when they peeked inside he told me he didn't know what the language was; no one could figure it out. Smirking, I told him I'd come down and help them read it once I was done here.

He looked at me incredulously but I really don't know why. He did come to me to ask because he knows besides Annie I'm the best person to ask. And really, I doubt Annie could tell them anything anyway. Finnick always did keep her mostly clueless about his doings in the Capitol. I don't know if that's to protect her because he loves her or because she would be safer not knowing, but either way for the most part she's too lost in her own head and horrid memories to be aware of what was going on anyway. Which made me the best person to ask and I had to laugh when he described it to me. Of course I knew what it was; I had a matching journal in my most likely destroyed home in District 7 from my years under Snow's grasp of appointments and being a sex slave.

I don't know what Finnick's has for secrets in that journal but it has to be a hell of a lot more than I ever had; after all, he did it a lot longer and a lot more than I ever did. I'm just happy he's probably written them all down for our sake because who the hell knows how well his mind is. If that's what his body looked like somehow I don't want to know what else they did.

On my way to Command I run into a few people but none I know or care to know. After all, what do I need them for? Even the few I see from District 7 give me harsh glares because of the Capitol's retaliation on our district after my obvious involvement in Kennie's breakout. It's not like I knew about it; no one even expected that to happen to District 7. District 12 we anticipated because really, Snow's had it out for them for…well if I'm being honest, probably since Haymitch won his Games by using their own arena against them. But my home…it's a little harsh but really I'm not entirely surprised. Snow's just a fucking bastard.

Once there Plutarch looks up to me with a relieved look though I can tell he half doesn't believe that I really know what I'm doing here. Coin's expression is well…mostly expressionless but I can tell she's perplexed as well. Oh I'm going to enjoy this one. Knowing something they don't and on top of it making them feel like they're pretty fucking stupid will be the cherry on top of this day. A rescue, Finnick's safe, and making these idiots feel idiodic in the span of about twelve hours? Yeah, best day in a long time.

"Soldier Mason, I've been told you know the language of this journal as well as the code?" Coin asks me and I give her my most smug smile which I'm sure looks more like a smirk at this point but really I don't care.

"The code I'll have to guess on but I have a pretty good idea. As for the language that's easy. It's English." I inform them and they all look at me like I'm part crazy, part stupid. They'll see.

"Miss Mason, you have not seen the writing. I assure you it's not English." Plutach insists but I just roll my eyes and hold out my hand for him to give me the journal. With a shrug he places it in my palm and I look down to the five letter coded lock. Hmm…well I can only think of two things. And they would most likely be in the 'coded english' too. The first I try is his boat name, the Tides. I pull on the lock but it's a no go. Second is the one other most likely thing and it happens to be five letters. Annie. Not surprising but it annoys me a little that this is probably the code. I quickly put in the five letter blocks E-I-N-N-A and the lock is unlatched. Of course.

"You did know the code." Plutarch whispers in awe. Hmm, well I guess he didn't believe me quite as much as he let on. Well whatever. "What's einna?"

"The most important thing to Finnick." I mumble rolling my eyes internally. I glance through the journal a little smugly, seeing that it's all in the English I taught him to write it in. An easy but long ago forgotten way to write. It's not brain science to figure it out but it could fool most people at first glance. Especially if it's in cursive writing like it is in Finnick's scrawl handwriting.

"English. Just like I thought." I think out loud and I get more strange looks. I roll my eyes at them and give them a bit of insight. "Do you have a mirror?"

"A mirror? What do ya need that for?" Haymitch's voice asks me from behind and I turn to him. "I assure ya Mason that your scowl is just the same as always." He smirks. Back to his sarcastic smart ass self I see. He seems a little more pissed than usual but that's not something to be so alarmed about. Not that I would be anyway.

"So's your assish face." I counter and he surprisingly just lets out one guffaw, clearly letting it go for now. Well that's definitely new.

"Very well. Here's your mirror Soldier Mason." Coin speaks and I look back to see Plutarch's assistant (whatever her name is) handing me a compact mirror. It's very Capitolish and I'm a little surprised that she even brings it around with her here since there's really not much need to impress anyone with looks, but I guess for now it's helpful so I'll let that slide for now.

"Fine. Hold this in front of me." I order, pushing the little mirror into Plutarch's hands. Curiosity takes over him and he does what I say as I hold the book up in front of it, moving it slightly. "Just as I thought. English."

"But…how?" Plutarch questions me, clearly still confused. Sighing I ask for a bigger mirror and someone goes off to get it as I put the book down. I point to the first like and they look down at it too.

TnempoleveD lacirtcelE menaP fo eciffo eht ot yek a sah yrlamoN aivatsuG

Gnidliub eht fo rotinaj eht htiw gnipeels yb ti deviecer ehS

"Easy. It's English really, just not in the way you're used to reading." I insist and the strange looks stay on me until I reveal the perfect English to them with the bigger mirror.

Gustavia Nomalry has a key to the office of Panem Electrical Development

She received it by sleeping with the janitor of the building.

Shocked faces are what I'm met with and Plutarch's assistant gasps when she sees this. "Gustavia? I went to school with her! How scandalous of her to sleep with a janitor!"

"This is ingenious. Mirror writing. Who knew Finnick was so smart as to hide all his secrets this way." Plutarch muses and I roll my eyes.

"Oh please Finnick didn't come up with this. I taught him this. My father used to entertain us by writing things backwards and we would hold them up to the mirror to see the clue to where he hid something of ours." I explain to them. I don't know where that talk of my family came from…it just sort of came out I guess. I hate talking about them because it makes me sad and angry. Vulnerable. And Johanna Mason is anything but vulnerable.

"Well that's lovely dear." The assistant replies but I can see her eyes drift to the journal, clearly eager for more gossip. Of course. You can take the Capitolite out of the Capitol but you can't take the Capitol out of the Capitolite.

We spend most of the next few hours translating the thing and as we do I'm impressed with all the secrets Finn has. I hate his means of getting all this but some of this could be vital to taking that bastard Snow down. One secret at a time…

Katniss's POV

Daughter-in-law? Is that voice talking to me? I look around the room but don't find any other women other than on of the nurses fiddling with something in the corner but she's not paying attention at all. Eventually my eyes come to rest on the man in the bed next to Gale's who is sitting up and looking at me. He was talking to me?

"…huh?" is all I can get out. I don't understand at all. Did they give him something other than sleep gas or me? Am I dreaming this? No I can't be, Gale's hand is too warm and solid that I entwined with my own. The man with slightly greying black hair grins at me before chuckling once. Well he definitely has a Seam look though his olive skin seems a little pale. But his eyes match Gale's…

"Sean Hawthorne. It's great to finally meet you." The man states while holding out his hand to shake. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief. But Gale's father…my father…they died. Years ago. So long ago that I had never met Gale's father, wouldn't have probably ever met Gale had both our fathers not died.

"But you…and…" I stutter utterly confused still. But…as I look at him he does seem to really be someone from the Seam. And he has Gale's eyes and they do sort of look similar just about twenty or so years difference in age I'd guess.

"I'm supposed to be dead?" he smiles at me, clearly aware of how confused I am. Almost like he expected it.

"Well…yeah. The mine explosion…" I whisper and he lets out a light laugh. Exactly like Gale's. Maybe he isn't lying and I don't think this is a dream. It better not be anyway.

"A planned one I assure you. They were going to kill us rebels off but me and one other fellow got away in a hidden tunnel. We were harmed certainly but we got away alive." The man explains and I just shake my head…well if he got away…

I gulp visibly and can feel myself being hopeful even if this is all just ridiculous. "Did…my father…did he…"

With a regretful smile and a sigh he shakes his head. "I'm truly sorry but Everdeen wasn't the man that escaped with me." All I can do is nod in response. I mean I knew that already; my father's body was found about a week later after the explosion, I had the physical proof I needed. But I do remember Gale telling me once that they never found his father's body. They told his family that his father was most likely the closest to the explosives and his body was exploded into indiscernible pieces. But…how did he know that was who my father was?

"Wait…how did you know who I was talking about?" I question him, feeling that this is too perfect. I mean practically everyone in Panem (much to my annoyance sometimes) knows who I am but…and then I realize I have no clue what has happened to this man to be missing for all this time. Fifteen and a half years to be missing…

He smiles at me before explaining, "Well for one you're the spitting image of him. We were in the same crew for years and we both hunted outside the district so I knew him well. Talked about you and your sister all the time. And for two, my son here told me all about you and your daughter in the Capitol."

Well I guess that makes a little sense. But for Gale to have told him in the Capitol I'd bet that he was in the same place. So…I bet he was the one that Gale was looking frantically to in that first interview I saw with him! The one that he clearly didn't want them to do something to him so he said something against the rebels, no matter how convincing it was. "Oh…but how…" I come out with. Wow apparently I can't even complete a sentence. Is this what shock is?

"You're wondering where I've been all this time?" he asks and I nod. Well they told me Gale shouldn't be waking up for a while anyway. I absentmindedly stroke his knuckles as his father tells me his incredible and horrible story.

"As soon as the mines started going off we knew it wasn't a mistake. They had just changed around crews and of the twenty of us fourteen were involved in the rebellion. It was too coincidental. I happened to be in a place where I knew there was a hidden tunnel to the forrest so I grabbed the arm of the man nearest to me, man named Coogler. With one nod he followed me out into the tunnel just as the explosion started. We got hit with some debris but not much and we made it out alive. I didn't have anything to work with and neither did Coogler but I knew those woods, knew what I could do. Hunt. Live in the woods.

We knew we couldn't go back to our families no matter how much we wanted to; the explosion was probably planned and going back meant certain death for both of us. So for months we lived in those woods through the hard winter, me providing food for us and Coogler building shelters in caves or such as we moved along trying to get here. Around early fall a hovercraft found us; we ran and tried to hide but they got us. I don't remember much more because they stuck something in my arm after that and the next thing I remember I was in that god awful prison room in the Capitol. Never saw Coogler again but for his sake I hope he died quickly if he's dead.

I didn't really know why they didn't kill me until they started shoving plans and papers in my face, telling me to design. They somehow knew about my hunting and snares and wanted me to put that to good use. Wouldn't feed me unless I came up with a good design though I didn't really know what they were for…until they placed a television in front of me and it was the Games. They made me watch them year after year and eventually about five days into that first game I realized what I had been designing; traps for the arena. Gamemaker traps.

After that I protested hard on designing and they started the physical torture. I didn't let that affect my protesting too much. Actually it wasn't until they started threatening my family that I finally complied. I felt horrible knowing that I was designing for those damn Games, that my snare ideas that once fed my family were now killing children. Children I saw killed with them every year…but even from afar, even if they thought I was dead I wouldn't be the reason my family died.

It wasn't until Gale here was a tribute that I absolutely refused to eat. How could they do this to me? I designed their stupid traps and they reward me by watching me son almost get killed by one? I thought it was rigged. A rebel doctor assured me that it wasn't, just a coincidence but I struggled to believe even him. And then you Katniss…I'm so sorry for that fire design by the way. In no way did I know how or what that would be used for. I actually designed it long before you were even the Girl on Fire." He apologizes and I just nod in my forgiveness, completely raptured by his story. I mean really it was just so long ago and I know he wouldn't have done it on purpose; the Gamemakers used him, abused his ideas and made them horrid. They were the ones to pull that ironic joke on me, not him. Seeing I'm ready for him to continue he takes a long exhale before continuing.

"The end of your Games gave me a little hope, knowing that at least my son would be happy. They may have put him in the Games and you had to volunteer for your little sister but at least you were both safe and you would be together. My pride was a little up at that too, knowing that two rebels had children to win. It could only be for the best. And it was…right up until the most previous Games. They told me to design the arena like it was for a Quarter Quell. I wasn't entirely sure what for but I had a bad feeling that they were getting repayment for having no Victor. It was my best trapping, a snare that narrowed the escape so that in the end there was no escape. I tore up the design as soon as I drew it on the paper but they must have put it back together somehow.

And then Gale here was back in again. I didn't know about Makenna until that reaping you see. I was shellshocked at first but then I started attacking the people who came to 'take care of me' claiming that I didn't deserve this. They hadn't even told me that I had a grandchild and she was already six. Really, couldn't they have bothered to let that slip? And I don't find out until my son and she is reaped?" he goes on, clearly just as angry and knowing as we were. But there's pain there too as well as a little guilt. He shakes his head before continuing. "After the breakout and Gale came here they took me to his room. I had to explain everything and he was pretty shocked as well as angry with me for making all of them think I was dead all that time but he got over it. I tried and encouraged him to rebel, fight against everything they did to him. He did for the most part but not all. At that first interview a few days after they brought him there they had me behind the camera with a gun to my head to make him say the stuff they wanted. I shook my head at him because I didn't care about myself, I wanted him to rebel. He had such an opportunity! But he didn't take it. And after that they moved me to another floor and I hadn't seen him since."

Wow that's just…wow. "I…don't even know what to say." I whisper and he gives me a sighing smile.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to. There's just one thing I should warn-" he begins but he's cut off by a groan. I look down to Gale and I'm relieved and happy at the same time. He's finally waking up! Slowly he opens his eyes and his grey orbs look a little confused and hazy at first before focusing on me.

"Oh Gale thank god you're alright." I sigh and lean in to kiss him.

But his contorted face stops me midway and he croaks out. "Who are you?"


	12. Confused

Katniss's POV

"What? That's not funny Gale." I half hiss, hitting him lightly in the chest. I expect him to laugh it off, pull me down and kiss me because of it.

But he doesn't; he just looks at me funny again and states, "I'm not." He looks to the bed next to him at his father and points to me, "Is this some kind of joke of your's Dad?"

Sean Hawthorne shakes his head, "No son. You don't know who she is?"

"Um no. Am I supposed to?" Gale replies with confusion and I feel sick to my stomach, my heart wrenching. How can he possibly not know me but know who is father is? Last time I checked his father was supposed to be dead and we're married.

Sean looks at him hard for a second and sighs. "Oh dear. Katniss, I-"

"Daddy!" shrieks Kennie's voice from behind me, her racing to hug Gale as I watch Gale's face. He looks confused and awkward that she's hugging her before lightly pushing her off.

"Sorry kid but I'm not your dad." He tells her and my eyes bulge out in utter surprise and anger.

"Yes you are." Kennie insists but I pull her to me as I just stare down Gale. He watches me too until we both hear a gasp.

"…Sean?"

"Hazelle." Sean half whispers in relief and reverently as he gets up out of the hospital bed and goes over to his not so widowed wife. And as he takes her in his arms one of the strongest women I know breaks down crying and while I'm happy for her and them I have a much more pressing matter on my hands.

"Gale, please. Why are you being like this?" I demand to know. Why is he like this? What on earth did they do to him? He seems to remember everyone but me and Kennie as they file in the room, most of them paying more attention to the long lost Mr. Hawthorne but Gale doesn't seem to mind.

"You're still here?" he questions me, his tone clear that he thinks I don't belong here.

"Of course they're here Gale." Rory replies, clearly just as confused by his brother's behavior as I am. "Katniss and Kennie are your wife and daughter." He reminds him even though he shouldn't need the reminder. To my surprise Gale starts laughing.

"Good one Rory. What, did you think you could just trick me into thinking I had a family just because I've been in the Capitol for months?" Gale questions and Kennie looks up to me for an explanation but I don't have one.

I look at Gale hard but my voice cracks even then, "You don't know who we are?"

"Um no." he answers, looking at me like I'm stupid. I sort of feel like I'm going to cry but I'm also quite angry and I get up and leave the room without another word with Kennie's hand in mine. Well fine if he's going to be like this I don't want to see him anyway.

"Katniss wait!" a deep voice calls to me and I stop whipping around. I'm not really in the mood to talk but he seems urgent. When I do it's Sean and he's alone, racing down the hall as fast as he can in his clearly weakened state from not doing much physical for years. "I needed to warn you, they did some sort of hijacking to him. I don't know what it is but it was new."

"Hijacking?" I question him, not knowing what that is. Still catching his breath, he nods.

"Yeah, hijacking is messing with someone's mind. A torture of a sort. Usually it consists of using tracker jacker venom to distort memories but it didn't work because of a rebel doctor. But this new thing he couldn't do anything about. I'm sorry." Sean explains and I can tell even though I just met him that he's truly sorry.

"Hijacking that he only doesn't remember me and Kennie? How is that even possible?" I ask, mostly questioning out loud and the anger seeping into my tone. But while I'm mad at Gale still I know the Capitol is to blame obviously whatever it is they did. It doesn't make it hurt any less.

Sean shrugs, "I don't know but we'll keep trying to jog his memory. Do you want to come back and try again?"

I think about it for a minute but then shake my head. I don't know how much more of this I can take today. The cruelty of the Capitol is certainly limitless, that's for certain. Not only did they have to take Gale away from me for months but I finally get him back and he doesn't remember me. Seems like Snow almost wanted him to be rescued just because he knew how I would feel. With a sigh and a look to Kennie that softens his eyes before looking back to the room he just vacated he goes back towards his family as I pull Kennie the other way towards our room.

"Mommy? Why doesn't Daddy know who I am?" Kennie asks and I stop looking down to her. She seems to be mostly curious but I can tell she's trying not to cry.

"Something the Capitol did to him." I sigh and lean over to pull her into a hug.

"Will he get better soon?" she questions me and I can't look at her. I don't even know what they did, how can I know if it's reversible?

"I hope so." I answer her honestly, not having a better answer than that. With that she buries her face into my chest and I sit down on the floor in the hall against the wall and we just sit together for a while, trying to keep ourselves together and wrap our heads around this.

Maybe an hour later the Hawthornes minus Sean and Gale are coming back down the hall and find us, helping us up and pulling us into hugs.

"I'm sorry. We'll get him back." Hazelle whispers to me as she embraces me and I can't respond. People can assure me all they want but it doesn't seem to be making much difference. "The doctors are trying to figure it out right now." She informs me. I hope they figure it out. Hope is all I have left when it comes to this. How on earth is it possible for Gale to not remember me after all these years, all this time? How can he not even remember his own child? What could they have possibly done to him to get it that specific of forgetfulness?

Hazelle tries to get me to go to dinner with them but I don't think I can eat right now but I tell Kennie she's going. She shouldn't go hungry just because of me. Once she leaves with them I sit back down for a while before returning to Gale's room but I can't make myself go in, not again. Instead I look through the windows and find him in there with doctors taking tests or something, Sean having what appears to be an argument with him. Eventually the doctors discharge him eventually and he comes out to find me still gazing into the windows at Gale where he leans his head back and tries to forget the doctors or probably whatever it is that his father was arguing with him about. I don't even really notice he's right beside me until I feel a warm hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know. I tried and tried to get his mind right again but he's stubborn." Sean tells me and all I can do is nod my head a little, not taking my eyes off of the hospital room. I already knew Gale was stubborn; I didn't need to be told that. But whatever it is they did to him plus his stubbornness not to listen is going to make it ten times harder to get him to his right mind again. With one more sigh when he seems to know I'm not going to move from this spot any time soon he leaves, I presume to go see the rest of the Hawthornes and catch up again on the last fifteen years. He hadn't even met Posy before today and Kennie still needs introduced to him too.

And stay I do. Doctors, nurses, a few other visitors come and go as I stand at that window and just watch because I can't find the courage to walk in that room again. Not when he doesn't even know who I am. I stay long into the night too, even when all the doctors and nurses have left and Gale's gone to sleep. Even though I'm angry and hurt I can't bring myself to leave; not when I'm finally seeing him for the first time in months, knowing that even if he's not right in his mind he's at least safe.

I'm eventually fighting not to drift off as my forehead leans against the cool window when I hear a voice, "Mrs. Hawthorne?" I look up with tired eyes to see a doctor in a white lab coat standing there, a clipboard in hand and weary eyes. "Come with me." He orders and I follow him through the halls of the hospital into some sort of conference room where another two doctors are already waiting. I sit down in a chair and they all look at me, clearly trying to decide where to begin.

"We're going to keep him in the hospital for as long as we can but he's arguing that nothing is wrong with him so it will be difficult to try to fix this." The doctor that came to get me begins.

"Yes, as for now we are keeping him here to observe him because of his many concussions but that excuse will only last so long." one of the other doctor's informs me, a woman with curly brown hair.

"Concussions?" I repeat. Huh, I didn't see any. "Is that why he doesn't remember me or my daughter?" I ask hopefully. A concussion goes away, it's only temporary. That's a far better explanation than I hoped for.

The woman doctor shakes her head with a frown. "No, it's too specific of amnesia to be just the concussions. Concussions don't work like that. If there is amnesia involved it's either everything or the victim acts strangely."

"Then what is it?" I question them, exasperated and exhausted at this point. The doctors look at me uncomfortably and then exchange knowing rueful glances with each other before the doctor that came to get me finally answers me.

"We…tested his blood to see if anything was off. His father who was rescued with him informed us that he didn't know specifics but he was told by a reliable source that there was a new type of hijacking done to Gale and the best way to test that was to take samples."

"And?" I ask, wanting desperately to know but at the same time not wanting to know.

"We found ample traces of mindsquito venom." The third doctor tells me and once I process it that makes sense in a way. Of course, I'd seen the venom at work multiple times during mentoring. A tribute got a mindsquito bite and they forgot the last thing they saw for a time depending on how many bites they received, afterwards not remembering what they forgot in the first place.

The Capitol could have injecting mindsquito venom into Gale as he was looking at a picture or video of me and Kennie and that was that. But at least mindsquito venom was temporary no matter how much he was injected with. They could either find a way to flush it out of him or wait it out and he would just wake up and be back to normal one day. She might even be able to forgive him for not remembering her or Kennie in the first place.

"So that's what's causing it then? How long until it's out of him and he's back to normal?" I ask. I don't know how much venom is in one mindsquito bite but I know Duncan had about fifteen bites when he forgot what his hands were in the arena and it was quite a few hours before he remembered. Even if it takes weeks or even months it's not permanent.

"Well…you see that's the problem. If it was just the venom or just the concussions it would perhaps take a few days to a week to get him back to normal. But together…" the same doctor begins, clearly uncomfortable. I shake my head at them, trying not to think what this means but the woman doctor says it anyway, making it impossible to have any hope that it's not true.

"Together even if we flush out the venom the concussions would have made it permanent most likely." she informs me and I feel like crying. In fact, I know the tears are about to fall so I quickly cover my face and wipe them away before they do. Are they really telling me that this hijacking is irreversible? That Gale will never remember me or Kennie? That Snow's actually going to win this one?

"We're sorry. There's nothing we can do but hope we're wrong." One of them apologizes but I'm not even paying attention now. What's the point really? I might as well just stay here…

No. Snow did this to me. And even if Gale never comes back to normal, even if he doesn't remember me let alone love me or Kennie I'm going to at least get my revenge.

I'm going to kill Snow.

Finnick's POV

God I still feel awful. I can't believe how much I actually told those torturers, all sorts of things about the rebels and other things I know. I didn't mean to, it just inadvertently came out. My brain wasn't listening to my will power to stay strong, it was listening to my body. My whipped, bruised, cut, shocked, stinging body. My shaved head where they placed some sort of wires to try to get the information out of me without me telling them, how much it hurt every time the machine came on. I didn't mean to tell them all that stuff, really.

But even though I'm clearly still going to be in the hospital a while recovering I'm happier than I have been in a long time. Annie's here, they brought her to safety in District 13 just like I begged them to. It's not like I wanted or tried to get captured but I knew it was a possibility if I wasn't dead. And even if I did get rescued they might have retaliated. Poor Jo, she had no one left to love so they destroyed her district. All those people…But me, if they hadn't destroyed District 4 they would have taken Annie. And no matter how bad it sounds, I would have rather the district be destroyed than that to have happened.

Having her back in my arms now is the greatest joy I have, her safe and alive and well and I'm back with her. As long as she's here with me I really could care less how long the recovery takes. I've already done enough damage to the rebels and I really don't want to face the repercussions of that quite yet. In fact, I hope to be here as long as possible. But at least I didn't give them everything; not even close. I have all sorts of secrets still hidden in my mind and my notebook which apparently is here now. Good for them, it will be of great use to the rebels if they can figure it out. Oh what am I saying, Jo's here. She'll know and make them use those things to advantage for sure.

And how right I am. Jo comes in my hospital room, holding that notebook. I'm surprised it's already unlocked and opened but I guess I shouldn't be. Aside from Annie she's the most important person to me and she knows me well. Too well, I'd suspect. She takes one glance at me with Annie sleeping in my arms but doesn't comment just looks up with a relieved half smirk. She may not seem glad to see me but I know she is. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she was on the rescue team, which I think by the bandage almost visible from under her shirt on her shoulder is indication enough.

She tosses the journal to me and I turn to a page she has a bookmark in and glance over it, finding two of the lines are highlighted.

"Is everything in that notebook true?" she questions me with a hard look, but I can tell she's utterly surprised at something. Probably the line that's highlighted. Fair enough, I didn't believe that one at first either. In fact, until I saw the proof with my own eyes I didn't believe it.

"Yes, every word." I reply honestly and she quirks an eyebrow at me.

"Even that one?" she nods to the journal in my hand and I solemnly nod.

"I didn't believe it at first either. Does everyone else know that you know this?" I question her. While most of the notebook is in English I did write a few of the more tantalizing secrets in another code besides the mirror writing. A code Johanna also knows because she taught it to me.

"No, I told them I didn't know what that code was." She replies gravely.

"Good, keep it that way for now. We'll use it to our advantage later." I insist and she nods, clearly still trying to wrap her head around that little secret. Better to let everyone think we don't know this piece of information until we can use it to our truest advantage.


	13. Control

Madge's POV

"We have all but District 2 right now. Hopefully this will all end soon." Rye informs me, something he really shouldn't be but he does anyway.

"Since when?" I question him, confused. As of a few days ago I we had all but four districts, not just one.

"Since yesterday actually. Or if I'm honest, we've had 5 and 6 for a while." He murmurs so the children won't here.

"…what? But they said that-" I protest but he cuts me off.

"I know they did and I don't know why they're lying." He answers grimly, "But I'm going to find out."

"What's the point of lying on that?" I wonder out loud and all Rye can do is shrug. He wouldn't even know this truthful information if he wasn't so high up in the ranks and the last person they would want him telling was me. Coin knows that Katniss and I talk and if she knew this…well, Coin would have something to worry about. Considering the way she acted when she found out that Haymitch faked his death I wouldn't want to be Coin if Katniss found out. Especially after poor Gale doesn't remember her or their daughter after whatever the Capitol did.

"All I know is that they haven't been telling us the real truth. If anything, they're a few weeks behind on telling us what's really happening." Rye predicts. "Especially after Hawthorne…"

"What? What about that?" I ask him, demanding to know.

Rye shakes his head and sighs before whispering, "I think Coin knew what they were doing to him."

What? How could Coin have known about that mindsquito torture to forget Katniss and Kennie? It was a new torture for goodness sake and we're here; no one could have possibly known that. Oh, maybe the rebel doctor that they told Rye about told her. "So the rebels there told her?" I ask. To my surprise he shakes his head with a frown.

"No. Somehow I think she knew before that. She waited to rescue them for so long that it seems like it's…almost too perfect." Rye tells me and suddenly I see what he's saying but it doesn't make much sense.

"You think she wanted Gale to forget them?" I protest, unbelieving. I mean really, what would be the point in that? What purpose could Coin have had to want Gale to forget his family? None I can think of anyway.

"You never know." He muses and I shake my head, still unbelieving.

"That sounds like something Snow would do." I mutter and Rye's head snaps to mine, eyes boring into me as he processes what I just thought out loud. And while I was just musing he seems to find more meaning in it as his eyes first go wide and then grow darker, angrier.

"Exactly." He whispers, his tone clear with anger. "I have to go to training but maybe you should go see Katniss. I know she could probably use a friend right now." He suggests and I nod. The kids have to go to school anyway so I'll just walk them there. With one quick goodbye kiss he's gone and I gather up the kids and we're out the door in five minutes, on our way to class.

On my way to visit Katniss though I don't really pay attention to where I'm going so I don't know that someone's been probably staring at me for a while until I hear my name.

"Madge?" an unbelieving voice calls and as I look up I see Gale staring at me, obviously trying not to gape. I give him a small smile because by now I'm used to people rediscovering that I'm not in fact dead. Of course it hasn't happened really since Katniss came here from the Capitol too much but after years of being a sort of ambassador for other not so dead District 12 residents it's sort of routine by now.

"Hi Gale." I reply and I have to smile again as he takes me in, me older and my large pregnant belly.

"You're…" he tries to state and honestly I don't know if that was going to be a you're alive or a you're pregnant. Maybe both. Wait, why is he out of the hospital in the first place? He's obviously not right in the head whether he believes it or not.

"Yes I am." I decide to answer both questions, ignoring the last one I thought of. Well he always was pretty stubborn; maybe he just refused to stay longer.

"But…" he mutters, still obviously trying to wrap his head around this. But really he probably shouldn't be. If his father of all people who was supposedly dead for over fifteen years was alive then why not me? Gale shakes his head and smirks, "Madge Undersee, you definitely surprise me. I mean really, I should have known that you were part of the rebellion all along."

I grin at that. "Well yeah I was. But I'm Madge Mellark now." I inform him; as if it wasn't obvious that I was probably married by my belly.

He looks at me strangely as if he's trying to remember something. "Mellark? I think…yeah I had a tribute named Mellark once. Peeta maybe?"

I nod in response. "Yeah you did. The seventy fourth Hunger Games, your first year mentoring. I'm married to his older brother Rye." I remind him. I mean really he shouldn't need the reminder since that was Katniss's year and all but considering he doesn't remember her I thought I'd clarify. Although it's interesting that he remembers Peeta at all, what with the whole star-crossed lovers thing Peeta tried with Katniss. You would think that if he didn't remember that he wouldn't remember Peeta.

"Yeah you're right. Poor kid but he made it decently far." Gale remembers and I stare at him. Poor kid? Last I heard Gale was extremely jealous and didn't even like Peeta after what he pulled in his interview. What on earth did that mindsquito venom do?

"Do you remember who won that year?" I have to ask, incredulous. If he doesn't even know who Katniss is then who on earth did he think won?

In response he shrugs. "I don't remember. I didn't really pay attention after my tributes died."

And though I know I shouldn't and it's not his fault, I stare at him incredulously. I mean how stupid is he? "Who was your girl tribute that year?" I question him.

"I don't know. Some bloodbath I'd guess." He shrugs and I just almost lose it.

"Gale, your tribute was Katniss Everdeen that year and she won." I tell him and to my surprise he looks at me funny before snorting.

"What, that girl that everyone's trying to tell me I'm married to?" he questions me with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes! Gale, they screwed with your mind in the Capitol! Mindsquito venom and concussions made you forget her!" I half yell at him, exasperated. "You loved her and did anything you could to bring her back. Peeta declared that he loved her at the interviews before the Games and helped bring her home because he knew you had already chosen to save Katniss! Katniss is your wife and you have a seven year old daughter Makenna!"

And as I stare him down after telling the truth at him, trying to get it into his stubborn forgetful head he stares at me before backing away a little. "Wow, are you sure they didn't mess with your mind here? All of you are crazy."

"What?" I ask, hitting my head with my hand as the baby kicks inside of me. Guess he or she is exasperated too.

"All those doctors and my family keep telling me the same thing but they're crazy." Gale shakes his head.

"That's because it's the truth." I inform him and he rolls his eyes again.

"Don't you think I'd remember if I had a wife and child?" Gale questions me and as I shake my head from anger and annoyance (mostly at the Capitol but him too) he sighs and waves goodbye. "Whatever, I'll talk to you later. Glad to know you're not dead after all."

As he walks off I just stare at him. Geez if I'm this annoyed I can't imagine how Katniss feels. Guess I should go tell her that her forgetful stubborn husband is released from the hospital that he should have never left.

Snow's POV

"Sir, unfortunately the rebels have overtaken all but District 2 at the moment and the rescue that took place a few days ago left many of our doctors and peacekeepers dead. I don't know how much time we have left until surrender may be needed." The Head Peacekeeper informs me grimly but I'm only half paying attention to him. I already knew all of it anyway but I'm certain surrender isn't quite necessary yet. After all, they have played right into my hand very nicely.

Despite that traitor rebel Dr. Calvus I knew of all the other rebels at that facility. I purposefully did nothing to them because I in fact wished for the prisoners to be rescued. Mr. Odair had been wildly helpful and he has quite an impressive array of secrets of which almost all are completely accurate. And while his information on the Capitol is good, his information that he gave about the rebels was far more helpful in my case. It will possibly be the very thing that wins a few districts back into my control. But he hadn't given any new information for the last week or so he was in the facility so his usefulness was declining, and it would have been futile to keep him for appointment purposes; his body was most definitely not what it used to be after all the torture he endured to give up information. And while it was entirely necessary, I don't wish to reveal those methods to the citizens of the Capitol.

While some are unfortunately almost being swayed into the rebel mind's point of view on the Hunger Games and the Capitol itself after that distraction in the middle of the Capitol for the rescue of the prisoners, I don't wish to confirm any passing indecision. Unfortunately I still have no information on who planned that since all the avoxes that rebelled that day are dead or have escaped and the cameras on that street were disabled the night before but no one knew. Apparently they tell me that the footage they saw was apparently old footage so they did not realize it wasn't live until after that disaster occurred. But when I do find whoever is responsible…

The elder Mr. Hawthorne was no longer of any use and he will not be much help to the rebels as it is. While he was a designer for the Hunger Games and he could possibly aid the rebels in weapon techniques and traps what he doesn't know is that we did not only use his designs for the arenas. No, in fact the whole Capitol is laced with hidden traps that can be turned on and off at my pleasure, many of which come from his basic designs. Using his own traps against him should easily counteract anything he does for them.

It was Gale Hawthorne that I wasn't quite done with but at least I am assured that the new technique has worked splendidly. If he doesn't remember his wife or daughter that will most definitely play into my hands. He will not have the motivation he resisted with here and she will be heartbroken and frustrated, perhaps even blaming District 13 for not being able to reverse the treatment. And even if I somehow lose this war, I will have that one small revenge. Their love has caused me much trouble and distress, to take that away from them in the only way I can think could work in my favor is a lovely thing. Killing either of them would just fuel the rebellion further, but if they are both alive and not in love it could work in my favor. I'm told they always worked better as a team so to prevent that will aid my causes greatly. It was not entirely necessary for him to forget their child except for the fact that she may have triggered something to remember Katniss, amnesia or no.

But while the rebels think they are winning they are far from it. I have information, power, and most of all, a spy right there in District 13. Yes, I have plenty to be worried about but I haven't lost yet.

Taking a file of information that I have courtesy of Mr. Odair I toss it across the desk to the man who seems to have given up. He tentatively takes the file and glances through it before looking up to me. "I assure you surrender is not necessary quite yet. Use that to get us back on track, will you?"

"Yes sir." He replies though he still appears to be doubtful and I nod. No matter, he will learn eventually. Mr. Odair may know many of my secrets but even he does not know the half of it.

?'s POV

"Why were you in that prison?" the President of 13 questions me no sooner than I'm out of the hospital. Really, they just wheeled me right here as soon as I was up and I was checked out for injuries and hijacking. Apparently that was a problem with that hot Victor but I'm just fine other than lack of food and sleeping on the ground for a few years.

"Caught me trying to escape my district a few years ago." I inform them. It was sort of selfish and wrong why I tried to leave but I felt it was right. Of course I was stupid enough to think that I could make it out there in the woods, that the Capitol wouldn't care about me because I was a nobody seventeen year old girl from District 5. How wrong I was. "I was honestly surprised they didn't make me an avox at first."

"Do you know why they didn't?" the dull grey woman asks me and I shrug.

"I think it might have been something about testing things. They did a lot of stuff to me but they always gave me pain meds beforehand." I inform them. Really, I have no clue what they did but I wasn't harmed in any way aside from being in mostly unpleasant quarters. I missed color and this woman wasn't helping any with that. They had even taken all the color out of my hair at that prison, leaving my once pretty hair an odd white for me being nineteen years old. I hated it but there wasn't much I could do about it. I never did find the reason for them dying my hair either. Not that I expected them to tell me anything so I didn't ask…

"So you were a lab rat then?" one of the soldiers states bluntly and I shrug.

"I guess you could put it that way." I tell them though I don't know if I believe it. They had always been kind to me in giving me the medication beforehand and I don't remember any side effects.

The President looks at me for a while and I try not to squirm under the scrutiny. "Are you happy to be out of there?"

"Of course!" I insist truthfully. I'm thrilled to be here, to fulfill my purpose. That kind man informed me that I would come here, that they would feed me and clothe me and take care of me. But he told me that I could come back to the colored place and live the sweet life only if I told him anything of use that I found here. Even placed some sort of chip in me so that I would only have to record it by pressing my palm and send anything to him. If I could end this war I could get a nice life. Seemed pretty easy to me.

The President luckily believes my honesty though not my motives and nods. "Very well. I have a request for you then."

"Yes?" I ask, baffled. What would she want from me? I don't know anyone here and I'm probably not very helpful at all to this war for her. I can only help by sending information to get what I want.

"You know the young man that was rescued with you, Gale Hawthorne?" she questions me and I nod dumbly. Of course I know who he is; who doesn't?

"Yeah, he's the one that doesn't remember Katniss or Makenna right?" I reply and the soldiers and President Coin nod in confirmation.

"How do you feel about observing them? Telling me if there are any progressing in his memory." She asks and I quirk an eyebrow.

"Why?" I ask. I mean really it's pretty much what I'm supposed to do anyway but I don't understand why she would want me to. It would be in her best interest if he did remember his love and his adorable little daughter.

"Nothing that concerns you I promise. However if you do a good job I will assure you that once the war is over you will be allowed to live wherever you choose." She offers and I brighten and nod. Oh who cares why, this is perfect. Really this is a win-win situation for me either way. Either way this war goes I get what I want.

"So I'm spying on them basically?" I ask and she nods in confirmation.

"Yes. I don't care how you do it as long as you report to me anything you find." She answers and I nod. Of course I will; it's even easier than my other spy job. Honestly I don't know why she believes I'm not a spy for the Capitol in the first place. The soldier dismisses me once President Coin goes back to looking at her files and I get up to leave before she stops me.

"Oh and Leta? Welcome to the rebellion. I know you will be of much use to me." She tells me and I turn around and give her a flashing smile.

"I love being useful." I assure her, lying. No, not really; I love getting what I want.


	14. Stupid

Katniss's POV

Punch, hit, right hook. Snow's face I would gladly do this too; in fact, that's what my current motivation is. I don't even need a picture to imagine I'm pulverizing his plastic face with those puffy pink lips and evil snake eyes. It's good for me anyway, the anger helps. I could really care less that I'm training just like Coin wants me to; this helps plenty. And no one bothers me.

"You know no matter how hard you hit it it's not going to die." A voice interrupts me no later than I just thought that. It's enough to make me stop and whip around, but I know this intruder well so I don't; too well.

"Gale." I answer without turning around first, and when I do I begin studying him as to what he's doing here. I can't believe they let him out of that hospital. Stupid stubbornness of Gale. Stupid mindsquito venom and concussions. Stupid everything.

He doesn't reply, just stares me down, studying me from head to toe as if…judging me almost. It doesn't bother me too much because he's seen it all before countless times whether he remembers or not, but under the circumstances it annoys me a little.

"What?" I finally question him after a silent minute of him scrutinizing me. He comes back up to my eyes and looks at me hard for a moment before shrugging.

"Well everyone keeps telling me I should know who you are. I just wanted to see if I was missing something stupid." Gale answers and I quirk an eyebrow. You could say he's missing something stupid; like years and years of memory.

"And?" I ask. I can already tell he still doesn't think anything of it but I might as well hear what he has to say. Despite being annoyed and angry and hurt by him and what the Capitol has done to him, I'm selfishly glad he's at least talking to me. I…well I missed him, remembering me or no.

"Nothing. I still don't get it." He shrugs, just like I predicted. I'm about to groan in frustration and yell at him like some of the other Hawthornes and surprisingly enough Madge already had, desperately and to no avail trying to yell some sense into him. But maybe a different approach will work better.

"Ever wonder why you have a ring on your left hand then?" I question him and he looks at me funny and doesn't even look down.

"Um, I'm not wearing one." He informs me, proving it by lifting his hand and clearly showing me his definitely non ringed fingers. What? What on earth did they do with it? I mean not that it should surprise me after everything else but still. I gape at him before taking off my own ring from our Capitol wedding and handing it to him.

"What does that say?" I ask him, knowing exactly what the inscription is on the inside of the ring. One of the very few things I actually liked about having a ring in the first place. He just stares at me instead of the ring I placed in his hand for a moment before amusing me and actually looking at it.

"It says….My Catnip." Gale reads aloud and I nod with a smile. "What does that even mean?"

"You call me Catnip, Gale, that's why!" I huff. Honestly I don't know why this would make a difference in the first place, but I keep going.

"Really? You're saying I called you cat food? That's just…stupid." Gale laughs and I want to hit him. Yeah it may sound a little silly but it's kind of cute too. I never minded after those first few months, not really. But for Gale to make fun of his own nickname…

"First time we met in the woods I was twelve and you were fourteen. I was shy and you asked what my name was and I barely whispered it so you thought I said Catnip. I told you my real name was Katniss but Catnip stuck after a crazy lynx started following me around. You have always called me that Gale!" I half yell, completely forgetting that there are other people around. For once I don't care; they all know that Gale doesn't remember me or Kennie anyway by now, the gossip mill here is almost worse than District 12.

I stare at Gale after that and he stares hard at me for a moment before his eyes go sort of hazy and I can tell he's thinking but it's frustrating him. He's getting angry and confused at himself and not even paying attention to me as he buries his face in his hands to hide a grimace.

"Catnip…" he murmurs and for the first time since he came back I feel a ray of hope.

"Yes, Catnip! That's me Gale!" I half whisper. Is this actually working? Is this all it takes? I don't know the specifics of mindsquito venom but I know it's very specific. Maybe if they just showed him a picture of me and told him Katniss then they didn't touch Catnip. No one really knew he called me that outside of our family and friends. He slowly let's his hands drop and stares at me hard for a second while I plead with my eyes for his mind to work right again.

Shaking his head to clear it he looks back to me with a half smirk as he hands back my ring. "Still a silly name. But who knows? Maybe someday I'll remember it." Gale replies. To anyone else it would sound like he's giving me hope, that he wants to know. But I know better; he's being sarcastic, joking. Mocking me.

"Mocking me isn't going to help anything." I glare. He actually seems surprised that I caught onto that. "Oh yeah, did I mention we know each other better than ourselves too?" I remind him before tossing the wristguards I was using to protect myself on the ground before walking away, desperately trying not to run and cry or hit him. This is just so horribly wrong; I never thought that I shouldn't have taken anything for granted when it came to Gale; I thought that the Capitol virtually couldn't touch us. Our families, yes; us, no. And the fact that they have…

"What, so you're a mind reader too?" he calls out and I don't even stop, don't even answer. I don't care if it's Gale or at least this warped version of him; I'm done for today. All I want to do is go hug Kennie and hold onto the last part of Gale I have right now that is completely right.

"With you? Basically." I mutter under my breath but I know he can't hear me. What's it matter anyway? He already thinks I'm a crazy stalker or something in his stupid mindquito concussioned head.

As soon as I'm back in District 13 though, I realize that Kennie's still in school and I probably shouldn't take her out. She actually likes school here and Madge's little boy around her age has fast become her good friend. I still have to shake my head at the thought that he's not Peeta sometimes but in general I'm happy that Kennie has a friend. It's good for her to not be nearly as stressed as I am; most of my friends are basically just as screwed up as I am if not more.

So instead of doing that I end up heading to Command. Not that I actually want to go there but at least it's something to do. Something so that I feel like I at least have a grip on something. Unlike with Gale where all he does is hurt and frustrate me though I know it's not really his fault. I'm only half paying attention when a girl around eighteen pops up in front of me, half scaring me out of my daze.

"Hi! It's so good to meet you Katniss!" the bubbly teenager states with a big smile. I do my best to look at her funny because she's a bit too happy for my taste.

"Hi." I reply, managing to keep it almost content for yet another person who shouldn't know me does.

"Oh my gosh I have so many things I want to tell you!" she goes on.

"I-"

"Oh silly me, I haven't told you who I am yet!" I'm Leta Jetson, from District 5. I was just rescued about a week ago from the Capitol." She informs me and I manage to smile though I feel a little lost. I do vaguely remember someone telling me that they picked up an unknown girl when they rescued Gale and Sean and Finnick but with everything else going on I sort of forgot. Poor girl, she probably has no one here to love. Not that you would know it by her attitude.

"You were rescued with-" I begin to say but she cuts me off again.

"Gale and Finnick and that older man? Yeah I was." She finishes for me with her ever present smile. But that falters for a minute as she sighs, but I can't tell if it's real sadness or not. "I'm so so sorry about Gale. It's terrible what they did to you and Makenna!"

"Thanks." I reply rather neutrally, trying not to let the anger be heard in my tone. It's not this girl's fault and she doesn't know me no matter how much she would probably like to.

"Oh and you walking away after trying to get his mind right…heartbreaking. I wish there was anything I could do." she sighs with a shake of her head and an almost frown.

"Wait…you already heard about that?" I ask, astonished. I mean I knew gossip flew fast here but not that fast. It was literally less than ten minutes ago. She giggles and shakes her head.

"No, I was up there learning in my first training session. It was quite the show." She informs me and I groan.

"Oh great." I mutter. That's just what I need; the whole of District 13 to see this. Not that I didn't realize it would probably happen like that but I didn't care ten minutes ago; I do now.

"Don't worry about it; he'll get better soon!" she predicts though I don't believe her. I half stare her down before I realize that she's not the one to get mad at and she doesn't know that she's making me angry. I manage to reel it in as I try to get away from her. I've never been so happy to go to Command.

"I hope so. Well it's nice to meet you-"

"Leta." She reminds me and I manage not to glare.

"Leta, but I really do need to get going." I finish and with a bright smile and a shake of my hand she leaves, gushing how she was so glad to meet me and we should meet up again. Not likely that I want to but I don't see how I'm going to avoid it if I run into her on accident. The girl won't even let me finish a sentence.

Finally making it to Command, I see that there's not so much hustle and bustle going on for once. There aren't even that many people in here…wait, why aren't there many people in here? Only Coin, Plutarch, and a handful of guards are in Command right now standing around some sort of table screen on the left side of the room.

"What's going on?" I ask, breaking up the little strategy session or whatever it was they were having as they turn to look at me. Plutarch gives me a smile as well as Coin's guards but she's as passive as ever.

"The rebel forces have overtaken District 5 and District 6 will most likely be taken within the week. All we have left to worry about is District 2 currently." She informs me almost dryly though I have no idea why. It's great news.

"That's good. What's the plan then?" I question them and it's Plutarch that answers me.

"Well in District 6 we will continue the propos but in District 2 we are sending not only medical aid as well as soldiers. We would like the actual district rebels to be the ones to overthrow the district but our aid will only help." He tells me, his voice having the right level of enthusiasm that I stupidly expected Coin to have when she told me about the progress.

"Anyone I know going?" I ask and Plutarch nods.

"Yes, your brother-in-law as well as your friend's husband Mellark. Mellark is leading one of the squads as his first in command will be training more upper division soldiers here." he replies and I half smile. Of course Rory would want to go; he could never just sit here idly while there's a war going on any more than I could. I'm certain Prim won't be thrilled about it but if she really wanted to go she could have been one of the medics; they are already training her to be a doctor so she would pretty much get almost her choice to go or not. As for Rye that's amazing for him to still step up in the ranks. I know Madge will be proud. A baker's son from District 12 becoming a first in command (even if only for this) in the rebel forces; not your everyday story for sure.

"I know both of them will be good for the rebels." I reply and Plutarch smiles at my confidence but Coin just keeps a straight face. Business is business to her; specifics like that don't matter.

For the next few hours I just sort of look at that map of Panem with them, Coin switching it to District 2 and showing me and Plutarch all the villages we have and don't have, where the Justice Building is, and the mountain that is vital to take because it's the Capitol's holding area for hovercraft and their intelligence. Why they would put it somewhere that isn't the Capitol is beyond me but I guess District 2 always was a little more Capitol than the rest of us.

I'm actually feeling a little better than I was earlier, feeling like I'm doing something productive. Trying to get Gale to understand is enormously unproductive no matter how hard I try. Though he seemed to be fighting some kind of haze in his mind earlier with the Catnip thing though he came back from it…

And speak of the devil, there's his voice again. "You're sending my little brother to District 2 to fight but not me?"

We all turn around and he's staring at us. Coin ends up answering him stiff and strict. "Soldier Hawthorne has demonstrated great discipline and a strive to succeed in this war. His commander has every confidence that he will be an asset to this mission."

"So do I!" Gale argues back and it's me who answers him, striding over.

"Gale, Rory has been here for months training. You just got here and while I know you could do it they won't be convinced." I try to reason with him though I know it's futile as soon as the words come out of my mouth. It wouldn't have worked even if he was right in his head.

"What you again? Stop stalking me and my family." He half growls at me and I can't take it any more.

"Stalking?" I hiss. "I can't be stalking my own family! You're the one who's crazy!"

"I'm not crazy! What the hell did you do to everyone, screw with their minds just because you wanted to be with a Victor?" he jabs and I roll my eyes.

"Gale, I am a Victor. And I wouldn't have even been with you had you not loved me without telling me before my Games! We tricked Snow and the Capitol that we were in love before it was real for me!" I yell back, once again not caring that people are hearing. Not that any of the people in here will go around gossiping anyway but still.

"What the hell? I don't love you." He informs me with wide eyes. And that hurts me more than anything. The one thing I never in a million years thought Gale would say to me. Was this Snow's goal? To make him not love me, crush me with that? It's enough to let the anger rise again instead of crying like I'd like to.

"Yes you do." I insist.

"Really? You're going to-"

"Soldier Hawthorne!" a voice calls loudly, cutting through our argument.

"What?" both Gale and I answer with an annoyed tone, turning to where Coin is staring us down.

Coin sighs. "That one." she specifies, pointing to me. I just stare at her again while Gale gapes at me and then Coin. What, is he actually realizing that it's not just family and friends that know that? "I realize that you are angry but please put that to good use and don't argue with him at the moment."

Anger to good use? I'd like to hit every single person in the Capitol that did this as well as Gale a few times. Well if it's good use she wants…

"Send me with the soldiers to District 2." I demand and with a quirked eyebrow for once Coin shows some emotion. Is that amusement or simply shock that I'm ordering something to her? Maybe both.

"Fine. You'll leave 1300 sharp tomorrow. Boggs here will be your commanding officer." She grants, nodding to the man at her left.

"What?" Gale half gapes, half growls. "She's allowed to go but not me?"

It's me who answers him with a smirk. I don't care anymore (well, at the moment), he's hurt me, it's nice that I get something he wants and can't have. "Yes. Because I've trained for months too. Maybe while I'm gone you can try to remember our kid…though I doubt it."

After that I walk away but I don't even need to look back to know he's got his mouth open wide and staring at my back, looking stupid and annoyed.

No, I don't really feel bad about that at all at the moment.


	15. Crazy

Katniss's POV

"But Mommy!"

I sigh, but I can't give in. While I did for District 4 that wasn't supposed to be a warzone though that's what it turned out to be and she was supposed to stay in the hovercraft. Obviously if a burial turned into a disaster I'm not going to even allow her to get anywhere near a real warzone; who knows what would happen? It's probably already dangerous enough for them that I'm going but I can't stay here right now no matter how much I'll miss her. Not with Gale acting like he is.

"Kennie, you know you can't. You're too young to go to something like this." I try to reason with her even though that's probably stupid. She's already been in the Hunger Games, it's not like this is too much more dangerous than that. Well, other than the fact that there weren't explosives or guns in the arena. And (most) people's intent wouldn't be to kill her.

"I'm seven now! I'm a big girl." she insists and I shake my head.

"I know you are but you have to be a little older to do something like this." I reply and she pouts, clearly thinking that it's stupid.

"Kennie, we'll have fun while she's gone! I'll help you make bracelets for everyone and we can even put those pretty beads on it I found." Posy tries to help. Kennie will be staying with Posy and Hazelle and Sean while I'm gone, so maybe this distraction would help. I'd have her stay with Prim or my mother but they're going to be extra busy with lots of the medics gone in other districts. And the person she should stay with is her stupid forgetful father but he's not right in the head so I wouldn't dare subject her to that. It's bad enough when I try.

And while Kennie originally looks like this offer will pacify her, she shakes it off and is persistent and stubborn as ever. "But you said we were going to go hunting in the woods today!"

Oh great, I did tell her that. Of course that was before yesterday evening when I decided to go to District 2 but I can't back out of that now. "We'll go when I get back. Promise." She frowns and hugs my arm, not allowing me to finish my meager meal of tasteless cucumber soup and a cup of water.

"Would you like me to go hunting with you?" a voice calls from behind us and we both turn to find Sean looking down to us with a tray in hand and a smile for Kennie.

Her eyes go wide before she asks in awe, "You can hunt?"

I barely manage to contain my laugh. She's been completely taken with her newly found grandfather ever since she met him but seems to not quite understand exactly why she hasn't met him before now. Meaning she really doesn't know much about him at all.

Sean, however, does laugh. "Of course I can. Who do you think taught your Daddy snares?"

"He teaches me!" she half squeals and I give Sean a grateful smile. Luckily this does seem to pacify Kennie in that she can't go with me and she's eager to go outside now. I look at the time and see that I should probably get going anyway so I say goodbye to the table before hugging and kissing Kennie on the head before leaving to go get changed and go to the hovercraft to District 2. Hopefully I can be a help there too with my own hunting skills because I'm still not the best with a gun.

That is if they even allow me to do much of anything in the first place.

Gale's POV

"Thanks Beetee." I nod to the balding glasses wearing genius. They wasted no time at all at putting him in his element apparently, as he seems to practically live here in Weapons Development and Intelligence with his young nephew when the latter isn't in school. It's not until I see the cot rolled up on the floor that I'm pretty certain that assessment is entirely true.

"No problem Gale. Glad you're back to hunting again." Beetee replies in his normal quiet tone. With a nod and a half smile I leave with the quiver in place on my back and carrying the bow up with me. When Dad told me that he had permission to go hunting in the woods outside of the district I couldn't be happier. After the fucking Capitol captured me when Johanna was broken out with Beetee's nephew because the rebels were apparently supposed to get all of us and failed I've missed being outside so much. It doesn't help that the whole of District 13 aside from training is underground. It doesn't help that they destroyed my district either. I'd also heard that they blew up my fucking Victor's Village house too though I really can't see the reasoning behind that aside from pissing me off and leaving me homeless if I ever decide to go back. I wonder if they touched my woods too? Somehow I wouldn't doubt if they had.

When I get up to the surface, however, my happiness at hunting drops considerably when I see who Dad's waiting with. With her own little bow and he has wire for snares. With a frown I wait for him to sense me and look up before asking, "What's she doing here?" First of all she can't be more than like eight and I recognize her too. She's the kid that everyone keeps telling me is mine though I still don't understand what's gotten into them. First of all just because this girl has the Seam look to her doesn't mean she's mine. There's like two thousand other people here from the Seam that she could be a kid to. Not that I don't believe she isn't that Katniss's daughter, I just don't believe she's mine. I don't know either of them; don't they think I would remember having a wife much less a kid?

Dad stares at me before sighing, but his tone is as declarative and no nonsense as ever, "Gale, Kennie here is the only reason we're allowed to hunt. She's the one that has permission, not us."

"Oh really?" I reply, eyebrows raised. What on earth can this kid do? She's only a little girl. I mean it's true that Dad started teaching me snares around that age but for one she has a bow which means she can probably use it and two…well why the hell is she so special as to get to go hunting?

I study the little girl and expect her to hide or try to get away from the scrutiny, but incredulously she doesn't. Instead she stares right back, a look of curiosity about her as she studies me too. But she doesn't say anything to me, just whispers in Dad's ear so that I can't hear what she says. And Dad frowns and sighs in return before whispering back to her, and whatever it is makes her giggle a little. I look to him for an explanation as to what the hell is going on but he just shrugs.

"Come on son, let's get going. We only have a few hours." He states, clearly not going to answer any of my questions. Rolling my eyes at that I end up following them into the woods, the little girl chatting away with Dad until we actually get to the woods and then she's silent, quiet, like a hunter far beyond her years. When we get maybe a quarter mile in to the forest Dad and the little girl start making snares and I go off on my own to hunt with the bow. The animals are such easy pickings out here unlike the woods at home; they don't fear a hunter like they should. I easily take down two squirrels and a rabbit in twenty minutes before wandering back to where Dad and the girl are and just studying them for a while.

It's in the quietness that I sense something coming, some bigger animal than a rabbit. I quietly creep over until I get a hint of the fur behind the trees, a whisk if it's tail as it walks by. A deer; I've only taken down a few in my life but this should be easier than even that. Unsuspecting animals are the easiest to take out. I take my time, aiming right for the eye so that none of the meat will be damaged. With a breath in and a slow breath out, I let the arrow fly and it hits the deer with a satisfied thunk right in the eye like I planned. A smirk graces my face as Dad looks to the deer from where he's making snares, completely awestruck at my skill in taking down this animal.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Dad gapes and I almost laugh. He knows as well as I do that he never taught me that; I learned it after he 'died' in that mine explosion.

"In the Training Center I think. I don't know, it was a long time ago." I shrug. My memory is a little fuzzy on that but I do recall using a bow in training for my first games. I guess I learned there. Though I guess Dad wouldn't have known that I could use a bow even though he was forced to watch my Games because I never had one. Stupid fucking Careers took it from me before I could get to it; they knew I wanted it, that's for certain. Oh well, no use dwelling on that right now. I won with snares which is more my specialty anyway so I guess I didn't necessarily need a bow.

Dad seems to accept this explanation but the little girl frowns and shakes her head. "No you didn't, Daddy. Mommy taught you how to use a bow like she teaches me."

It's the first I've heard her speak all day and it's insistent that I'm not only her father but her mother of all people taught me how to use a bow. I think I'd remember if a girl that small taught me some sort of skill. In fact I can't even imagine it. Thinking on it, I try to even picture it. A young girl, older than this one but still young with a bow in hand. Me holding one, looking at her…And amazingly, I hit a blank, black wall. I can't even imagine further than that but it's different somehow. Not like it's just so impossibly to imagine but that I physically can't. Like something's blocking me from doing so. What is this? It's the same thing as yesterday when that Katniss was insisting that I called her Catnip. I tried to imagine ever calling someone something that stupid and hit a wall. I shook my head and it went away but I never quite understood what that was all about. I'd never had that happen before. Was it the concussions they told me I had? They must have been but it still wouldn't explain much of anything.

I shake my head again and look with clear eyes at the girl and Dad who are both staring at me. "Sorry kid, but I'm not your dad and your mom didn't teach me anything." I insist, barely containing the eye roll that I wanted to do. She's still a little kid and it's not her fault that people have warped her mind.

The little girl's mouth opens and she almost looks like she's about to cry, but the real surprise comes from Dad glaring at me. What? I quirk an eyebrow at his glare and he just shakes his head and turns back to the girl and the snares. I stare at him for a while longer but he completely ignores me, first just making knots and then laughing with the little girl as she tells him some sort of story. My fucking god, I can't believe this little girl is stealing all the attention away from my dad. I'm the one who thought I was fatherless for fifteen plus years.

Well if he's going to ignore me I'm not going to make it easy. Instead of ignoring him back I go about gutting and skinning the deer, all the while listening to their conversation without seeming like I am.

At some point my dad laughs and I glance up from my work, seeing the little girl holding up a snare that even from here I can tell looks pretty good. How did she do that? I couldn't make that snare at her age. "Well I must say Kennie, you're a Hawthorne for sure!"

The little girl giggles and answers, "Of course I am! That's my name."

Dad pats her on the cheek and gives her a big smack on her head before shaking his head, taking the snare in her hands and helping her up to go set the snares. Once they're out of site I immediately stop pretending to work and stare in the direction they just left in. Dad's words keep ringing in my head; You're a Hawthorne for sure. You're a Hawthorne for sure.

Is she? I mean I guess it makes a little sense. But where did she learn those snares and get so good at them at the age of what, seven? She must have learned very young but I can't understand why. Only Careers learn how to do weapons and such from a very very early age and she's most definitely got the Seam look, not any of the Career districts. So…what? Did she start learning snares at like four? And she claims I taught her? I mean in a crazy sort of way it makes a little sense since I was the only person in the district really that could have taught her, but I would have remembered that. I even try to imagine it. A little Seam girl at the age of four, bringing her into the woods with twine and smiling as she…blank black wall. My fucking god, not this again! Why does this keep happening?

You're a Hawthorne for sure.

Is she? Are they actually telling me the truth? I try to imagine her in my life and all I get back are walls, blocking me from even thinking about it. And the harder I try the more my head hurts. I can't get around these walls in my own head. Is something wrong with me?

"You alright Gale?" Dad's voice asks me and my head snaps up from where I was holding it in my hands, trying to squeeze the pain out of my mind. I find him and the little girl staring back at me, but this time I really, truly look at the girl. What is it about her?

You're a Hawthorne for sure.

Is she? I shake my head and try to get back to normal. "Yeah I'm fine. Just a headache." I inform him. Well it's not entirely a lie.

Luckily he seems to believe me and with a half concerned look replies, "Well, we have to get back anyway. Why don't you grab that deer if you can handle it and go to the hospital to get yourself checked out after you drop it off at the kitchen?"

I nod in agreement, but I really don't plan on getting anything for the headache. It goes away anytime I shake my head after those strange walls go up. I have much more pressing matters to deal with in the hospital anyway so it's as good of an excuse as any. I pick up the deer and Dad takes my game bag with the other animals as I follow them silently from behind, half listening to the little girl's chatter with my dad as he laughs and jokes with her in return. Once we return our trackers and communicator devices I take the game bag and the deer to the kitchen as they go off to wherever and once I've dropped them off to the very pleased cooks I make my way to the hospital.

"Hello, did you need something?" a doctor asks me after I've been just wandering around for a few minutes. I know it's a strange thing to ask for and I don't even know if it's possible but somehow I need to know for sure. I need to find out what the fuck these damn walls in my head are for, if all these people are actually telling me the truth. That I actually am the crazy one.

I kind of hope not.

"Yes, can you tell me if…well I don't know really if it's even possible." I reply, scratching my head and feeling a little embarrassed. I might sound incredibly stupid for even asking, much less thinking it's possible. Maybe if I was in the Capitol because they have all sorts of crazy medical and scientific things that they do but not here.

Luckily the doctor doesn't seem to think that whatever I'm trying to say will be embarrassing because he gives me a warm smile. "It's alright, you can ask whatever it is that's on your mind." He insists. Maybe he's heard crazier than what I'm thinking or maybe he's just assuring me that whatever it is he won't make fun of me for it.

Well, it's not like I have many other places to turn to for sure answers. It's not like the blank walls in my mind are really that reliable or helpful. "Could you…do you…is it possible to do something to…test if someone's a parent to a kid?"

His immediate smile confuses me, one that makes me think that I really should be embarrassed for asking. It's such a stupid thing to ask first of all because really, someone should know if a kid's theirs in the first place. Besides the fact that everyone is insisting that this kid is mine though I can't understand it. "Of course; it's called a paternity test. All I would need is a sample of your DNA and the child's to test it."

I feel almost taken aback by this. Is it really that easy? "Alright, can you do that?" I ask and he nods and I sit down with a sigh. I don't know what's going on but its better by far to at least know for sure if I'm the crazy one or they all are.

And something tells me that it's not the answer I'd like it to be.


	16. Unsure

Gale's POV

"Well?" I demand from the doctor I talked to yesterday, he coming back with the results of that paternity test or whatever. I didn't tell anyone, I went to visit my family when I knew they wouldn't be there and slipped the little girl's hairbrush for the DNA. The doctor had said a spit sample or hair sample and I don't really know why but I didn't want anyone to know I was doing this. The doctor didn't ask a lot of questions but when I gave him the hairbrush I almost felt like it wasn't necessary. What, does every fucking person in this place know what's going on or something? I don't think he told anyone about it but you never know.

The doctor doesn't quirk an eyebrow at my impatience or anything. He just looks at me with a half-smile and exclaims, "It's a girl."

It's a girl…what? So does that mean…that she is my kid? I cover my face with my hands and shake my head before looking back up to him, the half-smile never leaving his face. "She is mine then?" He nods but I'm still a bit skeptical. I mean, what, I'm just supposed to believe that I have a kid because some stupid test I didn't even know about told me that? Just supposed to believe it because every damn person here keeps telling me that? No, I shouldn't.

Alright, it's because I don't want to admit I really am the crazy one.

"Would you like to see the test results?" the doctor questions me and I nod. He hands me his clipboard and I find myself looking at some sort of colored line of little lines and letters and dots and I don't really understand what it means. In fact, I'm completely dumbfounded how this stupid paper could tell anyone whether they had a kid or not.

"Here." the doctor exclaims, pointing to the strip of letters and going down the line. "This here is her DNA and this," he continues, pointing to the second strip of letters, "Is yours."

It still doesn't make a ton of sense but I do see of to the side a fifty percent which I'd guess means that it's a fifty percent match to mine. Makes sense if a kid comes from two parents anyway. But still…if this girl is my kid and apparently she is, what the fuck is wrong with me? I'd been telling everyone that I'd know if I had a kid or not and I clearly didn't think I did when I actually do. I shake my head to clear it but there aren't any walls now. No, there's just utter confusion and feeling well…stupid.

"What's wrong with me?" I mutter under my breath, still staring at the sheet of paper in front of me.

"Mindsquito venom mixed with multiple concussions." The doctor answers me and my head snaps up. Damn, I didn't think he could hear me. Though by the way he's looking at me now makes me think that he knew why I was so confused and that's probably why he didn't question me too much.

But…mindsquito venom? I don't…wait, when did they do that? For the few weeks before I was rescued I think (I don't actually know, it's not like anyone told me what day it was and I couldn't see the sun) they were trying to administer something in me. I vaguely remembering that I didn't think it was working whatever they were trying to do at first but then…well I feel the same but apparently it was different. I'm extremely fuzzy on all of that. In fact, the only thing I can remember clearly is meeting my dad when I thought he was dead for years and the physical torture that ended shortly after they put those things into my bloodstream. Though he did say something about concussions that I vaguely remember too. Something about a club of some sort that I'd seen in a few Hunger Games and a massive headache the day after for days on end. In fact, I don't remember practically anything from those last few days I would guess I was a captive now that I think about it. I couldn't even tell you the last thing I remembered from there and while that bothers me it's not the most pressing matter at this point in time.

"Well if it's mindsquito venom it has to go away at some point." I remind him though I'd guess he already knows that. What I don't understand is why I evidently know what I obviously forgot…no, still forget. Mindsquito venom doesn't work like that. "But why do I know what I'm apparently forgetting then?" I question him and he gives me a strained look, a hard thin line of his lips before sighing in…defeat?

"We…well we don't know for sure. I personally think it has to do with the mixture of the venom and the concussions but honestly what happened to you had never been done before. And something tells me they really didn't care about the specifics as long as the goal was achieved." He tells me and I look off into space, letting it sink in. So…they had to do something new to me? Why? Am I that special that I get the honor of a new treatment? …wait, don't answer that. Of course whatever goal Snow obviously had to achieve against me is worth a new treatment; he was never one to hold back when it came to torturing. But will I ever get better?

"We don't know that either. I'm sorry." The doctor frowns, answering the last question I thought to myself. Or at least I thought I didn't say it out loud but I guess I did.

"Do you know anything?" I ask dryly. Well isn't he just full of answers for what's apparently wrong with me.

"Yes." He declares back with more force than I thought he would. Honestly I thought he'd just back out of the conversation or apologize more. It's enough to make me actually look at him and quirk an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. "While we can't tell you or even do much, you do know that this little girl is your child. I would suggest getting to know your daughter again whether you remember her or not because I know she's had a hard time with the way you've acted." He suggests and I'm suitably impressed with his advice. Not the advice I would probably give or if I'm honest take. In fact, I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Maybe I'll just observe her for a while longer and try to figure it out myself, get past these blank walls in my mind first.

But I don't tell the doctor that. I just nod at his suggestion and thank him for the test before walking out, not really paying any attention to where I'm going. Because now that I know that I apparently have a daughter, it apparently means that something else everyone keeps telling me is true; even the woman herself. That Katniss is my…wife. Love. Whatever you want to call it.

And since I obviously have a daughter and that daughter is hers, it makes me believe that the Capitol apparently did so much more to me than I thought. That they somehow accomplished not only making me forget my child but my wife as well. Which means this was evidently Snow's goal and a pretty damn effective and easy one to do with mindsquito venom, but it doesn't answer the most pressing question; why? Snow may be an evil bastard but I've learned that through all his torture, all his evilness there's always a purpose behind it whether I find it as one or not. Meaning that he didn't do this to me just out of spite, he did it for a specific reason.

Yet another thing that I couldn't tell you what, but it's honestly better than thinking I'm crazy. Yeah, I think forgetful is better than crazy but it's still horrible.

"Oh my gosh! You're Gale right?" a squeaky voice calls out from my right and I look over to find some teenage girl with reddish blonde hair looking at me. Damn, where the hell did she come from? I didn't even see her let alone sense her. And even if I wasn't paying attention to where I was going my hunter's senses would have picked up on that. And I'm pretty damn sure the Capitol didn't touch those, evidence being the deer I brought down yesterday.

"Um…yeah." I answer her, almost sounding like I'm unsure of who I am though really I'm just not in the mood to talk to anyone. Well, come to think of it I'm pretty damn unsure today about everything but I'm certain that's who I am at least.

"I'm sooooo glad to finally meet you! Well, at least when you're conscious that is!" the girl giggles and now I look at her weird. Alright, unsure, confused, forgetful or whatever I am, I'm pretty damn certain I've never met this girl in my entire fucking life. Aside from the fact that literally the only teenage girl I have any business knowing is Posy, I think my family would have mentioned another one. Besides, the only red haired girl I know of even vaguely is the redheaded avox that well…come to think of it I can't really tell you how I know her as more than an avox. Yet another blank wall. Oh, and Darius too but he's definitely not a teenage girl in the least.

"I don't think we've ever met." I exclaim to the girl and she just giggles again and lightly hits me on the arm. Seriously, who is this girl? She's kind of freaking me out.

"Oh yes we have! I was rescued with you from the Capitol silly." She smiles at me.

"Oh." I reply, but that doesn't really explain anything. I mean really, what purpose would this girl have had in that Capitol prison? All the other ones at least made a little sense, even Dad. This girl is bubbly and cheerful and…well she almost reminds me of one of those Capitolite girls that I went on appointments with. Well, the annoying ones anyway. Which come to think of it, was all except the creepy ones. Guess that doesn't help much.

"What's that?" she asks me, pointing to the sheet in my hand and I look down. Huh, I didn't even realize I'd taken that from the hospital. Good thing I live by myself or my family might have seen that. They might not have been too thrilled to realize that I wouldn't believe them but I would believe a silly piece of paper I can barely understand. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why I do either. Other than the walls in my head and the insistence and well…I don't know.

Instead of answering me though the girl takes the paper out of my hand and looks at it. "You have a kid?" she questions me and I stare at her. First of all, it's none of her damn business. And second of all I'm pretty sure that even if I don't remember having a wife or kid, everyone else seems to know that. Why would this girl not know?

"Apparently." I tell her in the end, "I would have thought that you would know that since everyone else seems to."

She looks at me funny before shrugging. "Well, I was in that prison for a really long time. Actually, I think I've been in there since shortly after your Hunger Games."

"What for?" I question her, completely curious. What the fuck would they have needed from a what? Eight or nine year old?

She gives me a vague look her eyes glazed over as she seems to be feeling how I do when I get a blank wall in my head when I try to imagine something about Katniss or that girl…no I can't call her that girl anymore. Makenna. But then her eyes become clear again and she shrugs, that bright smile plastered on her face again.

"Oh silly me, I guess they just wanted me or something. But I do think it's great that you remember your kid if you have one!" she squeals before laughing. "Well it was so nice to meet you Gale!"

Well this girl is strange for sure. What the fuck did the Capitol do to her? "Yeah…it was nice to meet you…"

"Leta." she helps me out.

"Right." I nod, though I don't really care about meeting her at all. But she just gives me another smile and a giggle before skipping away.

I didn't even realize that she never gave back that test until I got back to my room. Oh well, I guess I don't really need it anyway.

?'s POV

I smile as I go silently through the walls, the hidden hallway between the public ones and the ground what I use to get around. Pressy Coin had told me all about the cameras, how you could secretly get around and look through the cameras to spy on people without them even knowing. In fact, in the times I've used them I could easily slip past the two people I'm spying on without them even knowing. A feat in itself Pressy Coin tells me and she's proud. Gives me whatever I want.

The first thing I asked for was hair dye, seeing as I hated this stupid bland white hair. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the more natural looking color for some reason but since I'm from District 5 I guess it fits. A lot of them have reddish hair apparently. I don't even know where she got it but really I didn't care.

The second thing I asked for was to not have a schedule. If I was going to be a double spy I was going to do whatever I wanted. Pressy didn't seem too happy about that one but she finally gave in. Now I pretty much just steal food from the kitchen when I'm not spying. They have some baker who makes really good bread and I laugh at the cameras when he turns back around and thinks he's going crazy because some bread is missing. You would think he wouldn't be so unsure but maybe he thinks he's going crazy and he didn't actually have something there. Whatever, it's funny to watch.

Once I send the conversation to Pressy Snow that I just recorded I go and find Pressy Coin, knowing she'll want to know. I know it's my job to tell her but she's not going to be very happy. I don't know why they don't want that hottie to remember anything but I really don't care either. Maybe she'll even give me something else I want for giving her this information.

"Yes?" Pressy Coin asks me as I walk in. Really she's no fun; she's the only person I haven't been able to scare because they didn't know I was there. But this is her office so maybe she has cameras in that hidden hallway I use to warn her I'm coming.

"Gale is not remembering but he found proof that Makenna is his daughter." I inform her, handing her the paper I took from the hottie before I left. Pressy looks down and frowns before looking up.

"Thank you Leta." She nods and looks back at whatever she was looking at.

"Well…what do I get?" I ask rather impatiently. I did what she wanted, I should get something as payment. She comes back up from her work and stares at me.

"What do you want?" she questions me and I think for a minute before smiling.

"I want…to look like one of those really pretty ladies in the Capitol." I exclaim and she doesn't give me any emotion but puts gets up and comes over to shake my hand.

"Done." She exclaims and I feel a prick in my hand before I go black.

When I wake up I don't really know where I am. Once my vision clears from blinking a few times I look down and see that I'm dressing in a drab grey uniform but my nails are a bright whimsical pink and my feet are in delightful pink polka dot kitten heels. Even though I'm laying down I know I won't have any trouble walking in them. After all, I'm from the Capitol; I've only ever walked in heels. My hair is still the same curly hot pink and white that I remember it as but it's not in the style I had it in when I fell asleep.

Where am I? Why am I dressed in this dullness but have my shoes and nails and hair right? What's going on?

"What's going on? Where am I?" I ask the person here that I don't know. But I don't wait for her to answer and I look over to the person I do recognize. Oh, President Coin. Of course, the President of District 13 that I'd heard so much about.

"District 13." She replies and I nod but I'm frustrated.

"Well why on earth am I here? I should be going to boots and belts class about now!" I exclaim, heartbroken that I'll miss that. I love that class. After all, what seventeen year old girl doesn't in the Capitol?

"Do you like to spy?" she questions me and I smile with a nod. Of course I do; spying on my big brother and sneaking glances at others work and stealing their ideas to make them my own so I get the credit have been favorite activities of mine. I always love getting what I want.

"Good. You're here because we would like you to spy on two people for us but you don't know them personally. Just stay far away from them and listen. Can you do that?" she questions me.

"What are their names?" I ask her. I don't really know if I like being here but I'm always excited to spy.

"Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Hawthorne." She exclaims. "Ring any bells?"

Um…no. "Is it supposed to?" I ask her and she shakes her head.

"No, of course not. Just two people I'd like to keep an eye on and control. You can help me right?" she asks me and I roll my eyes.

"Of course I can." I assure her and she gives me a crisp nod.

"Very well. I'm certain you will do plenty to assist me in this Vibia." She exclaims and I give her my most devious smile. Of course I'll be a help in this. I'm freaking Vibia Gally for crying out loud. Spying and getting what I want is sort of my specialty.


	17. Holding

Katniss's POV

My eyes open wide but I have to shut them immediately again, blinded by the brightness. So instead I try to figure out what on earth is going on from the comfort of the darkness behind my eyelids, far easier to think from. But I can't seem to really think at all, my mind's fuzzy. Guess I'm going to have to rely on the old fashion way then. Face the pain of the light and get over it.

Bad idea. Very bad idea. Now that my vision is coming back the pain that I physically feel, mostly centered from somewhere on the right side of my stomach is overtaking me. Gosh it hurts so bad and I don't even know why. I not only let out an involuntary moan of pain but I also whisper the name of the person I want most. He always made me feel safe, feel better, feel so completely right even if nothing was.

"I'm pretty sure ya didn't hit your head sweetheart. Ya know how he is right now." Haymitch's voice responds to me and I find my focus on the man I didn't really want to see but at least he probably has answers. He always did anyway. But my involuntary want for Gale has only made my mood worse, his reminder darkening my thoughts already. Though most of that is pushed back and I ask the question at the forefront of my mind right now.

"What happened?" I question him and he stares at me before answering.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asks back and I look up to the ceiling instead of him before replying. What is the last thing I remember? The mountain…a train on fire….fire…

"Um…I think we had just sent people into that mountain base through a secret tunnel in District 2. I wasn't with them because Boggs wouldn't let me but I think Rory was…" I begin, and Haymitch just nods, letting me continue to gather my thoughts. I grab on for anything, something. "And um…something about a crash we heard…a train on fire coming out of the mountain…the workers and the rebels with guns in the middle of the town square?" I continue, but my mind is more and more fuzzy on those details.

"That it?" Haymitch asks me and I weakly nod. Really, the pain is so bad right now that I can't focus at all.

Haymitch grunts with a nod before enlightening me on what I apparently can't remember. "You were in the town square when the fighting broke out. Tried to stop it but some idiot shot you anyway, hit your ribs. Two are broken but other than that your fine."

"I was?" I try to remember, squinting my eyes. I can vaguely recall it but not really.

"Yes. Really Katniss, you shouldn't do stuff like that. I was horribly worried for you. And I thought that Rory would be the one to get hurt if anyone did!" Prim's voice replies and I turn to find her standing in the doorway with a clipboard and donning a white coat, looking for all the world like the doctor she's becoming. But the clear worry and pain in her voice over me stops my smile at that thought.

"She shouldn't but I guess we should be glad sweetheart here did." Haymitch retorts and I give him a confused expression.

"Why?"

At this Haymitch cracks a satisfied smirk. "Because now we have all the districts. That little speech ya did before the guy shot ya did the trick. We took Two by nightfall."

I raise an eyebrow at that but my face graces a hopeful smile. "Really?" Both Haymitch and Prim nod with smiles, Prim's more relieved than happy. Although I think that still has more to do with how many less lives will be lost now because of this development than Haymitch's smile for a victory.

"Well I gotta go sweetheart. See ya later." Haymitch tells me and I nod goodbye. I'm not really mad at him anymore but being sentimental really isn't either of our things so that's enough. Once he leaves Prim puts down her clipboard and sits on the bed with me.

"I called down and told them that they could bring Kennie up so she'll be here in a few minutes. I didn't want her to come until you were up." Prim informs me and I nod. I'm still in pain but I don't quite understand.

"Have they given me any medicine or painkillers?" I ask her and she hesitates before shaking her head slowly.

"No, but I can get it now." she replies and doesn't look at me, and I know something is up. What exactly is going on here?

"Prim?" I call her name and she ignores me for a moment, avoiding my eyes as she hooks up the morphine to me. I instantly feel less pain but it doesn't help my suspicions. What is she hiding from me.

"Prim." I call more seriously and wait until she finally meets my eyes. Her eyes are filled with guilt and it looks like she's trying to hold back tears. "Why didn't you give me any pain meds before?"

She bits her lip and sighs. She tries to look professional but utterly fails and as a tear starts to fall she finally speaks in a small, croaked whisper. "We…didn't give you any at first because…it would have hurt the baby."

"The…baby?" I mumble, trying to wrap my head around it. I couldn't have been pregnant; for one I was on birth control that lasted a year and two, I haven't made love with anyone since Gale a few days before he and Kennie went into the arena. How on earth could there be a baby?

The tears are flowing freely now on Prim's face and she steals herself to inform me more as she nods solemnly. "Yes. Did you know?"

I shake my head, still in a daze and in utter disbelief. With a long exhale Prim sits down and takes my hand in hers.

"About three months along. When we went to see if your ribs were broken…" Prim tries to tells me but lets out a soft sob before continuing. "And…you were already in the process of a miscarriage."

"Miscarriage?" I mutter, completely lost. I'm still trying to figure out how there's a baby in the first place.

"I'm so sorry. I…we…couldn't save it. There was too much internal bleeding from when you were shot." She half whispers and I finally look up to her.

"There's no baby?" I whisper somberly and with a tear falling down she nods. "But…I-"

"Mommy!" Kennie cries and it takes me a second to focus on her, my head still completely lost in what Prim just informed me of. But for the moment I try to push it away.

"Hi sweetie. I missed you so much." I tell her, my voice thick with emotion.

"I missed you too." Kennie mumbles into my chest where she has bounced on the bed and crushed herself to me. I hold her to me even tighter even though I'm sure that's not the best for my wounded body right now but it's all that's holding me together as the initial shock wears off. I give her a loving kiss on her head as I just rock her like a baby…like the baby I didn't even know about until it was gone.

And it reminds me of something else. That meeting years and years ago with President Snow, him warning me that I would only ever have one child. How if that changed somehow he would make sure that I only had one child any means necessary. How I vaguely remember a peacekeeper being the one who shot me. I don't know if this was Snow being a fortune teller or a sick joke of the world on me, but apparently he was right somehow. And even if it wasn't really his fault at all in this I can't help but hate him more for it.

Prim still holds my hand but I don't look at her or Kennie, closing my eyes and trying to pull myself together. I can't go away again, not this time. I need to stay here in my mind and focus on what I can do to end all of this horribleness. I glance at the ceiling before the window that looks outside my room and I see a flash of someone with dark hair quickly move away from it. What was that? Was someone watching me?

Shaking my head I look back and I think I actually imagined that. I mean really with everything else going on it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Annie's POV

Screams take over me. My poor poor district partner getting beheaded once again, my screaming in terror. Is that me screaming? It must be, it's far too high pitched to be that awful boy from District 1. The one that took him away from me…

"Come back my love." Finnick's voice whispers. What? Why is Finnick in this nightmare? Oh wait, he can't be.

I shake my head and my vision goes from that awful arena to a dull white and grey place in the background, familiar green eyes that never cease to amaze me and love me pulling me back to reality. Like always.

"Sorry." I whisper. I know it pains him when I do that, go into my arena again in my own mind. But he's never said so and I never call him out on it. As long as he still loves me he won't leave. At first I thought it was more pity but it can't be; our love is too real and vital to be that way. I'm only myself when I'm with him. And he seems to feel the same. But I can't stand him being in such pain and I know that even if I don't really remember what went on that he was. I can see the signs on his body that are slowly fading away with time.

He kisses me lightly on the lips, stirring something in me. Yes, this brings me back more than anything. More than his voice, more than his beautiful eyes. Really, I wish he would just kiss my arena away all the time but I'm not entirely sure how that would work. "Don't." he argues back as a whisper in my ear and when he pulls away I give him a shy smile. He hates when I apologize, says I just can't help it. And maybe that's true but it doesn't make it much better.

"Can we…go for that walk?" I ask him after a moment. Really, there's nothing much to do here else. I know that we're in District 13 but all I know other than that is that we're underground. I so miss the ocean and the sand and my home but I somehow know I can't go back. Not right now at least. Something about fighting and a war going on. I know Finnick tries to keep me from knowing much as to not worry me but I know more than he realizes. But I don't tell him that because him knowing that I know the truth would only hurt him more because I'm not protected.

I know about his secret journal, the one that he writes things in in a weird way. I only accidentally found out how to read it when I walked past a mirror with the thing in hand one day. I was going to ask him about it but he was in the Capitol for something and I forgot when he came back. But I read what I could. I don't know where he got all that stuff but I'm sure it's true if he wrote it in such a secret way. I also know that there's some kind of war going on and my poor Finnick was hurt by someone but he's going to be alright now. We're safe here everyone assures me. I believe that one, because the only people who get harmed here are the ones who go to fight in other places.

"Of course." Finnick smiles as he presses a kiss to my forehead, holding me at my waist as we begin our walk. But we're stopped when we get down the hallway by a soldier man.

"Finnick Odair?" the man questions him and he nods, a strained but confused look gracing his features. "May I have a word?"

Finnick still seems confused as he looks at the man and then down to me and sighs. "Annie love, could you stand here by yourself for a moment? I just need to talk to this man for a minute."

I nod with a weak smile as he gives me one last protective look before walking not ten feet away with the soldier. I know he doesn't think I can hear but I can. I've always had good hearing.

"I'm to inform you that you must be in Command at 0800 hours tomorrow for your war crimes trial." The soldier informs Finnick and while I can't see Finn's face I can tell by his tense body and a small intake of breath he's not only confused but angry. I am as well. War crimes? What has my Finnick done? Nothing I can think of.

"For what?" he whispers, clearly trying to keep me from hearing. Hoping this man will match his tone but he doesn't.

"For the information you gave in the Capitol." The soldier replies and Finnick doesn't respond immediately but the tenseness has not left his body. When he doesn't respond the soldier gives him a curt nod. "0800 hours. Don't be late." He reminds him and with a very stiff, swift turn goes away. Finnick doesn't come back to me immediately and I know he's probably trying to pull himself together. To not worry me.

So I let him and look away to the wall, pretending not to be paying attention. Like I wasn't listening. "Annie? Are you ready to finish that walk?" he asks me as he places an arm around me again. I look up to him and he looks as casual as he always is to the untrained eye. But I know better; I didn't even need to be eavesdropping to see it. But I don't want him to worry over me worrying about him. Whatever this is all he wants to do is protect me. And though I wish he would share with me I know protecting me will make him happier. So I don't bring it up and I don't ask what went on. Instead I give him a small smile with a soft nod and we go off, not speaking but no doubt having the same thoughts and worries.

Yes, maybe it's better for him to try to protect me. I'm not sure if he needs it more than I do to keep himself together right now or not.

Snow's POV

"Sir, we have our plans ready to overthrow Districts 1, 3, and 9 once more. We will move in as soon as physically possible." The head of war dealings informs me as I mostly ignore him, stirring my tea absentmindedly.

Oh yes, all my advisors and peacekeepers are stressed and worried over the rebels taking all of the districts. Surprisingly enough they did it far more quickly than even I imagined. I suppose it aided them to have their symbol but I can deal with that. In fact, I am.

I knew sending that girl with them when the rebels rescued the prisoners would come in handy. Having spies is always a good thing. Besides, she was a traitor; she deserved to not be right in the head, I don't care who she is. If her damn father had the good sense to not cross me…me, who he was well aware of that he shouldn't have tried then she wouldn't be paying the price. Besides, if she hadn't been aiding him along she would have been fine. No matter, she's more useful alive than dead to me unlike that traitor that was her father. Now she can help me along with the master plan.

Just like a chess game. If you are three steps ahead of everyone else then you will ultimately win. The plan for so long…it's finally coming together. The country are the pawns; practically useless aside from their little steps, slowly aiding the rest of the major players. The bishops and such having more power but ultimately playing right into the king's hands. The queen who does all the dirty work but ultimately fails. Because the king controls even her no matter what she believes.

Of course it would have helped had those slightly more powerful pieces didn't have minds of their own. But even they can be controlled in some way. It's all part of the master plan. Make the boy forget his loves. Make his loves hurt and angry at him. And doing as I please with them and the boy will never be the wiser, never care. I could kill them but really that would be mercy. No, I have plans for their little phoenix, that's for sure. A king always gets what he likes. And while it appears that he's in check now, he's always three steps ahead.

"Wait another week to attack and overthrow those Districts." I insist to the man and while he appears to be surprised and questions me, he doesn't say so. He leaves and I smile to myself. Yes, the king is always three steps ahead. He plans everything, every piece currently in the correct place.

If you want to win the game, a king has to have patience. Patience is the only way to find checkmate after all, and I've played this game for a long, long time.


	18. Hesitation

Gale's POV

"Nice work Soldier Hawthorne." the trainer praises me and all I do is give her a nod in acknowledgement. Really, I don't see too much of a point in training. After all, it's pretty fucking stupid to demand a Victor trains when it's evident to everyone that they already know how to kill, how to survive. We've all done it. But apparently Coin doesn't give a shit about that because she refused to let me go to District 2 about a week ago simply because I didn't have enough training. Or because she wanted me to wait until I could go to the Capitol (unlikely) which will come up in the next month or so as I'm told by Rory who is actually allowed to go to Command more than I am. Or just because it would piss me off because Katniss went. The same Katniss who's my…wife?

I'm pretty positive she is my wife and I know that Makenna is my daughter thanks to that test now, but I still remember nothing. In fact, the first time I remember meeting either of them was when I woke up in the hospital here after they rescued me. But…everyone keeps insisting that they are and that I'm forgetting them because of the Capitol. Something I don't really have as much trouble believing now thanks to the blank walls in my mind any time I try to imagine my life with them. I've experimented, trying to picture my daughter's birth, my wedding, hunting with them…well, just about anything. And when I came up with strong impenetrable blank walls in my mind at those I attempted to imagine smaller things. Walking Makenna to school. Eating dinner as a family. A kiss goodnight. It's not as strong as walls as the other things but they are still there. It's like…well, it's sort of like I can almost grasp it but I can't. Like the Catnip thing. I think that was the closest I've ever come to breaking through the walls but I don't really understand why. I've tried it multiple times a day since I sort of figured out what's wrong with me and it's the same every time. Like it's just an inch out of my grasp and then I lose it, a headache in its place. It's pretty damn annoying but I haven't stopped trying.

As for actual talking to either of them or acknowledging that I now sort of know what they are to me though I still don't remember them…well that's a failure. It's not that I'm a coward or anything; it's that I truly want to try to remember something, anything on my own. It's not like I couldn't just tell them that I know they're right it's just…alright, I'm sort of a coward. And stubborn because I don't want to admit they were right all along.

I have, however, been watching plenty. It's not really easy to spy on them, especially since they always seem to be with a family member or someone else who knows me. It was easier (as bad as it sounds) when Katniss came back from District 2 injured because she was lying on that hospital bed for a good two days, unconscious. Sure people were coming and going but I managed to sneak in a few watching periods. Mostly while she was still unconscious I just studied her, desperately trying to figure out any way I could possible remember her. She had the normal Seam look but it was almost like she was different somehow. Like I could just tell by looking at her that she was special, in what way I can't describe. I can feel some pull to be near her but there's no memories, no motives behind it. Or perhaps it's just because now I'm trying to figure out what I saw in her to marry the girl. Which might have been easier if she was conscious…or if I just manned up and went to talk to her myself.

But then Haymitch went in, and then Prim. I could tell she was upset over something but what I couldn't tell you. I had hidden in the other hallway when I heard my mother's voice and the chirp of Makenna from the other hallway and I knew I needed to get out of the way somehow. It's ridiculous really, but somehow I can't seem to allow myself to get caught watching her. But when my mother left I snuck back, finding Katniss holding my…our daughter to her and evidently trying not to cry. For some reason I had the overwhelming urge to go comfort her but as soon as Katniss looked up from her embrace straight at me I ran instead. Damn, I really am a coward.

Pretending that everything was fine, I decided to go to Command to find Rory. I knew he was busy in there, he had been ever since he made them listen to me about the bombs and despite Coin not really liking it, everyone else apparently does. I don't really have a reason to visit, it's more just to have an excuse that if Katniss happened to figure out it was me watching her from that window that I could say that I was somewhere else. Besides, there's got to be at least some new information. Now that we have all the districts it's time to plan for invading the Capitol. My favorite part.

When I arrive, the place is not that active at the moment. It's mostly just people sitting around making plans or talking quietly about strategy, the television on low in the background on the off chance something important goes on in the Capitol that we should know. I glide on in with my hunter's stride, not even capturing anyone's attention until I come up behind Rory.

"What's this?" I ask him, clamping a hand down on his shoulder. By his immediate jump I'd guess I'd surprised him but he's immediately not alarmed when he hears that it's me. I'm looking down at some kind of map in front of him and a few others at the table, red, green, and blue marks on it everywhere.

He looks up just to confirm it's me though he knows already and gestures for me to sit down next to him as he answers me, "A map of the Capitol. We're trying to figure out how to get to the center of it so that we can take control of it and end this war."

I nod as I take my seat and study the map, vaguely recognizing the President's mansion near the heart of the city and the Training Center maybe five blocks from it. All over the map is blue lines and red and green dots all over the streets.

"What do the colors mean?" I question the table.

"Well, the blue lines here indicate the paths that we think would be best to take." One of the soldiers answers me, Boggs I think. The one that's in charge of a lot of things. The one that was Katniss's commander when she got to go to District 2 and I didn't. "And these dots here are what we call pods."

"Pods?" I question him with a quizzical look.

"Yeah, like mutts and tracker jackers and things flying at you and stuff." Rory answers me and I try not to cringe but fail.

"So they're like Gamemaker traps." I muse out loud. As I study the map again I can see just how true my words are. It's like looking at the virtual maps of arenas for years as a mentor but being able to see where all the traps and dangers are. The Capitol…it's like a damn arena.

"It's not an arena, Gale." Rory assures me, knowing what I'm thinking of. I give him a look; he wouldn't understand. I went into an arena not once but twice while he's never even been to the Capitol. Only a Victor would truly understand it. Well…us and the other tributes that can't be here to remember because they're dead.

"It might as well be." I mutter under my breath. Rory and Boggs choose to ignore that comment but someone else at the table that I hadn't even bothered to realize was there does answer me.

"Oh don't be silly, it's just protection." a high pitched accented voice replies and I look up to see a wild haired girl smiling at me. She's wearing the grey uniform like everyone else but it's easy to see that she's a Capitolite teenager. What the fuck is this girl doing here?

"Who are you?" I question her. Not only that, why the fuck is this girl important enough to be here at all let alone strategizing about taking down the Capitol? If anything she would probably just wish to go back there.

"I'm Vibia." The girl answers as she flashes me a smile. "Who are you?"

To say I'm surprised that she asked me would be an understatement but I try not to show it. Really, I thought all of Panem knew who I was after being a Victor and all. And since she's from the Capitol of all places it makes even less sense. "Gale Hawthorne." I reply. I swear some form of recognition passes through her eyes when I say that but she quickly goes back to normal. Hmm, maybe I'm just imagining things. I'm beginning to not quite completely trust my own mind anymore after what apparently happened to me in that prison so it could be just me.

"Well it's lovely to meet you." She smiles and stares at me in a way that makes me slightly uncomfortable. Almost like she's…judging? It doesn't really seem like it from the outside but I can feel it. Which brings me back to my first question about her.

"Why are you here?" I blurt out, probably in a way that isn't very polite. Not that I really care.

"We rescued her along with you and Finnick." Boggs answers me and I stare at him blankly. Huh? I could have sworn that there was only one girl rescued with us and it definitely wasn't this girl. No, it was that girl I met the other day, the one with red hair.

"But I thought you only rescued one other person." I protest and all three of them look at me strangely as I elaborate. "I met the girl you rescued. A girl named…Leta I think. From District 5."

All three of them stare at me like I'm crazy before glancing at each other, clearly trying to come up with something to say. I just want to scream to them that I'm not crazy, that I didn't imagine that. I know that my mind's screwed up but not enough to make up an entire girl with a name and face and background story. Just…forgetful.

"There wasn't anyone else Gale. Just Vibia here." Boggs insists and I stare hard at the girl. She's definitely a Capitolite but if I look closely…yes, she's definitely the same girl I met. The girl from District 5 with red hair and she'd been in the Capitol for a long time. Most definitely named Leta, not Vibia.

"Your hair is different." I state to her but she still looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Yeah, her hair was white before. The Capitol did that so Fulvia over there gave her some hair dye. It was the only color she had." Boggs informs me, nodding over to the right corner of the room. I see Plutarch and his assistant bent over something on a screen so I'm assuming that Fulvia is the assistant. But…just because she has a different color of hair doesn't mean she's not the same girl. And she has to be if there was only one girl rescued.

But I choose to ignore saying that because they already think I'm crazy, no need to confirm it in their minds even though I know I have to be right. So I ask the other question I've been burning to know. "So why are you here? And why haven't I seen you around before?"

The girl, Vibia/Leta or whatever answers me with a shrugging smile, refusing to give in on what I know has to be true. "Well I just woke up in the hospital a few days ago so I haven't been around. And I'm here to help with this map. My father was a Gamemaker so I know what kind of things are used for these kinds of pods."

Well the Gamemaker thing only confirms what I figured before; the Capitol is basically an arena. "Why were you even in that prison then?" I ask. I know I'm sort of interrogating her but she doesn't seem to mind incredulously.

"Oh let it go." Rory insists and I glare at him. He looks like he's about to explain how much of a mean ass I'm being to this poor girl I shouldn't have already met before but said girl cuts him off.

"No it's alright." She insists, and turns back to me with a wry smile. "My father got caught by Snow doing some things and he's dead so he threw me in prison as punishment for my mother."

"Why would he do that?" I ask her even though it seems pretty rhetorical. Really, why wouldn't Snow do that?

"Why not?" she shrugs, not even answering my question. And while I feel bad for interrogating this girl I know she's lying somehow on something though she seems genuine in the Leta thing. Or at least she doesn't seem to know anything about it. I could tell if she was lying and she wasn't so who is Leta? Where is she and why does this girl look like her? What the fuck is going on?

"Soldier Hawthorne, what are you doing here?" Coin voices her tone clearly annoyed somehow.

"I was just trying to see what's going on. And meeting Le…Vibia here." I reply, half catching myself on the name. Coin rarely shows anything but I can tell that she thinks I'm just as crazy as the rest of them.

"What were you going to call her?" she questions me and I shrug.

"Leta. The girl that was rescued with me and Finnick." I answer frankly. It's not like if I lied anyone in here wouldn't hesitate to call me out.

She frowns at me in response before hesitating to answer. "Soldier Hawthorne, I assure you that there is no one in this district with the name Leta. It was Vibia here that was rescued with you."

"But…" I know there's at least a Leta here even if it's not the one that was really rescued. What, am I really the only person that met her? Am I really crazy like they all think?

Do crazy people know they're crazy?

"Soldier Hawthorne, I repeat that you do not have the permission nor the authority to be here. I'm asking you to leave immediately." Coin almost snips at me and I look back at her. What the fuck is her problem? She never shows any emotion whatsoever but I can clearly see a hint of anger there as well as impatience. Which only seems to make me think that I'm actually right somehow but she doesn't like it.

But now is not the time to bring that up nor to investigate. Everyone here already knows that I'm not entirely right in my head and now they probably think I'm crazy. Who would really believe me even if it's true? Not many people if even my brother doesn't believe me. I don't exactly have a good track record here in District 13 after all. But I know that I need to find out somehow what's really going on so I guess I'll have to wait for later. Figure out some sort of plan, find some sort of evidence that I'm right.

So with that in mind, I give Coin what could only be described as a dirty look before frowning and getting up from my chair, barely containing myself not to storm out of the room. Not that I'm really one to follow orders but I'll find a way to make it right.

Finnick's POV

God I hate how this has turned out. You try to help people, willing to give your life for someone else and this happens. You get captured by the Capitol because the plan went awry, something probably worse than death with the torture. You get rescued to get back to the girl you love only to have this happen. A war crimes trial. One that I will most definitely lose unless I can pull something out of my ass.

Because it's all true. I wasn't strong enough to not give them secrets, let them know things about the rebels and what I knew about Capitolites and their 'dear' President Snow. I wish I was strong enough but I'm only human; I can only take so much. And even though I didn't give them everything, didn't even get close to mentioning a few of the deeper darker secrets that I have the privilege of knowing, I know that won't matter. Coin will not hesitate to punish me just for the hell of it let alone for the things I actually did.

Because in a way, she's just as bad as Snow. Even worse in some ways. She pretends to care about the rebels and the districts. Pretends that she truly wanted to save me and the girl though I can't her really wanting to. She just wanted Gale in her grip so Snow couldn't have him. She wanted the leverage he would provide in the future. Leverage for something so horrible that Snow has planned for years but honestly I can't see which plan is worse at the moment; his or hers.

"What are you going to do then?" Johanna questions me, an almost dark and knowing look in her eyes. She knows everything, knows those secrets that only I was privilege to in this district. Well…besides Coin of course.

I stare at her hard before gripping the notebook in my hand, the very secret that could save me burning its way through the pages and the fires of hell that surround it and its creators stealing me to do whatever I can. All I need to know is that Annie will be safe after this because who knows where I'll end up? Surely Coin won't let me just go free but it's better for me to at least try to make this alright. Johanna will do what she can in the real world but I'll do the dirty work. I want the privilege of seeing Coin's face when I tell her what I know.

"I'm going to blackmail her." I state with steely resolve and Johanna gives me an almost wicked grin back. Because we have the upper hand on something in the end.

Why don't they realize that Victors always stick together?


	19. Why

Gale's POV

"What do you mean we've lost them?" Katniss's voice half yells, half hisses in outrage and disbelief from the hallway that I'm currently listening to from the corner of another. I had just been going to find my brother when he found her instead and once again couldn't bring myself to go out there. But I will eventually. For now listening in seems like the best way to go.

"Well it seems like someone let it be known about one too many rebel secrets and that lead to the Capitol being able to break down the systems. We've lost District 1 and 9 already." Rory half growls as he accuses someone. Who is that someone? Me? I don't know anything at all about rebel secrets. It's not like anyone would fucking tell me anything.

"Gale? He didn't know anything Rory!" Katniss defends me. Wow it seems like even though I don't remember her she's still on my side. That's got to count for something right?

"Not Gale, Katniss." Rory replies, and I can almost see the roll of his eyes that goes with the tone. What, is it so hard to believe that it wasn't me? That I'm that weak, or that I was too in the dark to say anything at all? Honestly…it's probably a tossup at the moment. I don't quite trust my own mind as it is right now. "Finnick."

"Finnick? I mean I know that he knew a lot but-"

"He knew too much. And now he's going to pay the price for it." Rory cuts her off and there's a pause before she replies, I'm guessing either from disbelief or anger. What price?

"For being tortured for months he's going to be punished? Can you honestly say that you could have resisted? What would you have wanted?" Katniss questions him in an almost seething tone. Well, honestly, she's right. I would have forgiven Finnick or at least defended him too because they don't know what Capitol torture is like; I do. I mean Katniss doesn't, but she did say she was a Victor. And Victors stick together no matter what. Even Rory wouldn't understand that.

"Look I don't know." Rory says almost defensively. I can practically imagine his hands in the air in surrender to the short woman yelling at him, probably a terrifying thing to go up against. I somehow find that hot. Wait, where did that come from? "All I know is that Coin and Plutarch and Vibia and the rest of them want him to go to a war crimes trial."

"It doesn't mean…wait, who's Vibia?" Katniss begins to argue back but then cuts herself off. There goes that Vibia or Leta or whoever she is again. But I'm just as confused as Katniss on this one. Whoever she is, why the fuck does she have such a high place in power. She's a damn Capitolite teenage girl who I really can't see much worth in for a war; what the hell do they see in her?

"The girl that was rescued with Gale and Finnick." Rory explains quickly, "But anyway, they-"

"Wait, what?" Katniss cuts him off again.

Rory sighs before repeating himself, "Vibia was rescued with Gale and Finnick in that Capitol prison. She just woke up a maybe four days ago because she was under some sort of drug."

"No she wasn't." Katniss insists and I half nod in agreement though no one can see me. Wait…what? Why does Katniss think that?

"Um…yeah she was. She's a Capitolite teenager thrown in there because her father was a Gamemaker that did something against Snow or something." Rory exclaims to her in much the same way that he and Boggs did to me not long ago.

"No." Katniss argues back. "I met the girl rescued with them. Her name was Leta or something…from District 5."

…huh? So I'm not crazy! I knew I'd met that chick Leta, that I didn't just make it up. And I haven't even talked to Katniss since she talked to me so I couldn't have. Now that both of us are insisting that it has to be at least somewhat true. Because while I still don't remember her, I'm pretty sure Katniss isn't crazy.

Rory lets out a confused yet annoyed noise, "You too? Why can't you guys understand that-"

"Wait what? What do you mean you too?" Katniss demands to know.

Rory hesitates but eventually tells her the truth. "Gale. Came in telling the girl herself that she wasn't who she is."

"…huh?"

Rory sighs again. "Look, I don't know what's going on. I was just going to give you a heads up about the trial but I have to get back. I'll see you later." I sense him walk off (he never did have the hunter's tread that I have) but I don't sense another pair of feet moving. I slowly walk silently towards where the hallway begins and find Katniss still standing exactly where she was probably, turned away from me. With smooth steps I carefully slink closer to her, stopping maybe ten feet away.

"You met her too?" I question her in a low voice, not quite even understanding why I am when I was so resolved not to have contact with her until I could figure out these walls in my head. It takes her a second but she does slowly move to turn around and face me. Her face is a mixture of confusion, shock, and…pain? Well, I guess the pain part could have been me. Plus she's probably mad that I was spying on her basically. But to my surprise, all she does is nod slowly, clearly guarded. Well fine, I guess I'll talk more.

"Leta, I met her too. Everyone else is insisting she isn't who I think she is." I continue. She still watches me from her place and it's making me a little uncomfortable. But I'm done running and hiding from her. There's something going on and I want to get to the bottom of it; remembering her or not. "But if both of us have-"

"Why are you here?" Katniss asks me slowly, glaring at me in anger and pain. So much pain. I just wish I could make it go away. I want to scream at her that I'm trying but I can't. I don't know how to fix it since my methods don't seem to do anything but give me an enormous headache.

"I was just in the hall." I excuse myself lamely.

"And then you decided to just not come out?" she argues back and I honestly don't know what to say.

"Yes." I reply stupidly as she slowly walks towards me. I feel like running but I stand my ground for the most part. Until I see her hands go softly into fists and then I start slowly backing away from her at the same pace.

"Why?" she questions me, her expression just as much guarded as pissed off. But from the way she says it I can tell she's not just asking why I didn't come support her with the Leta/Vibia thing.

"Why what?" I question her in a low voice and she quirks an eyebrow at first but doesn't relent in her pace towards me.

"Why everything. Why didn't you help me? Why don't you understand what's wrong with you, how much you're hurting us?" she questions me, half whispering and half hissing. "Why did you ever leave her side in that damn arena?"

"I-" I try to explain but I know that there's no use and she's still coming after me, for what I couldn't tell you. But she's picking up her pace so I pick up mine, going backwards towards the wall. I know I'm going to hit the wall soon and I won't have anywhere else to go but I can't think about that right now. It's when her hands begin to come up when she's only maybe three feet away that I jump back and hit the wall. But curiously instead of being pressed against the wall I strangely fall, almost…going through the wall and fall to the ground in the dark. Katniss ends up landing on top of me and I gasp at the effect of hitting the ground and her weight on top of me, some burning heat coursing through my veins though I don't understand it at the effect.

"What the-" I begin but I cut myself off as the wall goes back to where it was, leaving us in the dark. And somehow I realize that this place definitely isn't what I think it is, that there is far more secrets to this place than there should be. That I'm not the only one that should be confused at all.

Why the hell did we just go through a wall?

Katniss's POV

As I lay on top of Gale, all I can think is how much I've missed this feeling. The heat coursing through me in the darkness, the contact with his body, his heartbeat matching mine…his hands gently on my hips as if they automatically just go there. It makes me want him so bad in a way that I haven't for months that I almost can't think straight through the desire but then I'm brought back to reality when a few dim lights come on. And I realize that this isn't like it should be, that Gale doesn't even really remember me. And how I should be mad at him though I'm mostly still just hurt by it.

But first thing's first; the find out what the heck just happened. So I quickly get myself off of Gale and tentatively stand up, making sure I don't hit my head or anything inside of this wall hall or whatever this is. Gale just stares at me for a second before following my lead, and somehow I can tell he misses the contact too though I doubt he realizes why. Or maybe that's just a guy thing.

Once he gets up Gale bangs on the wall first where we came in through before going up and down it, probably trying to find a seam or a knob or something to indicate that we can get out of here. He frowns and huffs in disappointment.

"I don't know how to get out of here." he grumbles and I shrug, probably not as worried as I should be. But then I catch sight of something behind me, some sort of key hole. But it's not like any I've seen before, it's different somehow. I finger it tentatively and find that it's almost squarish.

"Look." I reply, and he turns to find where my hand is still observing the keyhole, going to investigate himself. His fingers accidentally brush mine and I pull away though I don't want to. He glances at me for a second before visibly trying to pretend it didn't happen and studies the keyhole himself.

"Maybe if we walk around we can find whatever it is that opens this." He suggests and I nod in response. We silently pick a way to go and don't speak as we look around. It's not until we've walked about five minutes or so that I say something.

"What are these?" I think aloud, referring to the round almost little windows every once in a while maybe an inch in diameter at eye level. Gale looks from the little windows to me with a shrug before gazing into once. It's not long before he lets out an angry noise and pushes away from the wall. "What?" I question him.

He lets out another guttural noise with an eye roll before answering me. "Cameras."

Cameras? I look into the camera that he just looked in and find a hallway, a person or two in the standard gray uniforms walking past, one looking to his wrist at his printed on schedule before going back to talking with his companion. I wouldn't have known it was a camera had there not been a little blinking red circle of light in the corner every once in a while. Standing back up I blink twice, trying to wrap my head around it.

"Why would there need to be cameras? Any security cameras wouldn't have to be hidden like this." I voice my opinion.

"Maybe it's not for security." Gale offers as an explanation. "Maybe it's for…spying."

"Spying? Why would Coin need spies?" I question. Because really, if anyone was going to have spies or secret places in this district, it would be her. But it really doesn't explain anything at all.

"Why wouldn't she?" Gale grumbles before walking again to the next camera, looking into every one quickly before moving on to the next one as I follow him. We do this for a while before he stops in place, freezing in place before looking at me.

"Leta." He states and I quirk an eyebrow at him. "Leta is a spy. Don't you see? Vibia-"

"Is Leta." I finish his revelation as a whisper, letting it sink in. Of course it would make sense. She just sort of popped out of nowhere when I met her and she was a totally different person. And if she was Coin's spy (for whatever she needs one for), then it would make sense for no one to know who she was really. How she's basically a totally different person, a totally different identity. How she just randomly 'showed up' a few days ago. Leta could have easily kept hidden in here for days. But it doesn't explain one thing. "Why are we the only ones who know that then?"

Gale grimaces and I know he's hesitating to answer me not because he doesn't know, but because he's figured it out somehow. Something that I won't like. "Maybe we're the ones Coin's spying on."

"Why?" I question for both of us and he shrugs. Because really, what reason is there? While Gale's not acting like well…a jerk right now to me, he still doesn't remember me. Besides the fact what reason would there be anyway? All I care about is Kennie being safe and happy and wanting Gale to come back to his senses. How on earth is that something so dangerous that I need a spy to watch me?

Not having any answer, Gale goes back to looking through the cameras as I look for some sort of key or whatever to put in one of these square keyholes I keep seeing every fifty yards or so. We've gone down a few floors (there are stairs every so often) and every floor is the same layout just like the actual district, not just this god awful dark hallway behind the walls that I don't know how to get out of. At some point I'm ahead of Gale looking around when he's looking into a camera when he whispers something. But…that can't be what I thought I just heard right?

"Did you just say what I thought you just said?" I question him, and it takes him a second to stand up, an innocent look plastered on his face.

"I didn't say anything." He insists, but doesn't he realize I can tell he's lying? I know what I heard; we both have hunter's senses.

"Yes you did." I declare, walking slowly towards him. He subtly shifts in front of the camera where he was just looking through as I come up to him, my eyes never leaving his. "Let me see what that camera's looking at." I demand. He seems like he really isn't going to, that he's going to protest but then he seems to decide to just let me see. He tentatively moves two steps forward as I glance through the camera.

I find myself looking at a bedroom, one that looks like any other one but this one I recognize. I recognize the people in there too. It's Posy, fidgeting with some sort of string and sitting right next to her focusing on the bracelet she's twisting into an intricate pattern and following her aunt's direction is none other than Kennie. I knew it.

I turn around slowly to find Gale staring at me, knowing that I know what he saw. But… "You said her name."

"Yes." He finally admits, gazing right at me as I wrap my head around it before getting half relieved, half angry.

"You remember?" I whisper, somehow not believing it's true. Because if he really did remember then he would remember me too, wouldn't he? And if he did…then why has he still been avoiding me? That pains me even more than the whole forget us thing in general.

"No." he shakes his head and I guiltily feel a little relieved at that. "But if you don't remember…"

"I did a paternity test." He reveals and I quirk an eyebrow. When on earth did this happen? And why didn't I know about it. And why didn't I think of that before? I could have saved myself and our family a lot of pointless arguments. Prim told me before what that test was when she had just started learning to be a doctor.

"So…" is all I can mumble, not even knowing where to start. But he helps me out by trying to explain it himself.

"I did it because I had to know since everyone kept insisting. I know Makenna is my daughter and I know that you're my…wife but…I still can't remember." He explains, clearly still frustrated with himself. "I'm trying to remember, I really am. Every day I try so hard." He half gasps, clearly in pain from it. All I can do is stare at him with my mouth half open in surprise. "I try to imagine my life with you two but walls in my mind keep blocking me, and all they do is leave headaches. I've watched the two of you since I found out, trying to get some sort of trigger but nothing's worked." He explains, hiding his face in his hands. So it probably was him that I saw in the window at the hospital. But…

"Gale…" I half whisper. He brings his hands down and tentatively places them on either side of my face, making me lose my breath and any thought I had that I was going to tell him. What was I going to tell him?

"I'm sorry." He apologizes, the pain and anguish and anger at himself easy to see. "I'm so sorry. I want to remember so bad but I don't know what else to do."

"You said you were trying to trigger it?" I question him quietly just to make positive and he nods. I place my hands on top of his and take them off my face. He gives me a questioning look but it doesn't last long as I stand up on my tiptoes and pull his head down to me for our first kiss in months.


	20. Feel

Katniss's POV

As my lips meet his in this kiss that I think I actually might have needed more than him, I immediately feel it go right through me. My veins which were boiling with anger and confusion not minutes ago are now buzzing with heat and passion, my heart racing at the hope that this could work. That I can get my Gale back just with this.

It takes him a second, but once he realizes what I'm trying to do, trigger any memory of me with this kiss, he goes with it. My hands have a mind of their own coming around his neck and pulling at the soft tendrils of hair at the nape of his neck as his own explore me, caressing my back and stomach. When the kiss ends we both have to catch our breath but stay close. I open my eyes with hope that it actually worked but I find in the dim light of this hidden hallway that his are still closed, his eyebrows creased in deep concentration. I watch him for a moment before he sighs and slowly opens, staring at me in an expression that for once I don't really understand.

"Well?" I question, attempting to keep my voice steady. But I can tell that he can sense the hope lingering just behind the surface, my breath still not as even as it should be.

He sighs and gives me a look of sadness as he slowly shakes his head. "No. I wish it was, but no."

I must look like I'm about to burst into tears or something because despite still not remembering me, he quickly pulls me to him in an embrace as I try desperately not to feel so disappointed.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. "So sorry. I don't…I don't want to hurt you anymore." And he has hurt me, so much that he doesn't even understand. Because he can't understand; the Capitol took that away from him too. And I know it's not entirely his fault but I can't help but blame him even though it's somewhat irrational. Why can't I just get him better myself? I've read the fairy tales, the spell is supposed to be broken with a kiss. Every time.

Maybe because fairy tales aren't real. Our lives have certainly not been a fairy tale and Gale nor I are royalty for sure. While she is treated like a celebrity and a kind of princess I guess you could say, Kennie isn't royal either; all we are is a family that has the weight of the Capitol and Snow bearing down on us, trying to control us with every move. And now that they have succeeded in half taking even our strength in each other away, I feel that somehow this spell won't be broken. Because it's not a spell; it's a cruel form of torture that experimented and worked in a way that seems irreversible. And I don't see any fairy godmothers coming to my rescue either. Which leaves us with this; Gale apologizing for the wrongs done to him because he has hurt me and Kennie, the ones he should love.

When I don't reply to his statement for a while, he decides to talk again. Really, I don't know how he can; I certainly can't find it in me. If the comfort of his arms is the only thing I can have because I still remember than I'll take it for as long as I can.

"I can feel something you know." He half whispers in a low, steady voice. Curiosity at the statement gets the best of me and I tentatively raise my head to look into his pained eyes. He looks like he has a headache or something again. Oh right, he said that he got them when he tried thinking of our lives together; maybe he really is trying. He just gazes at me for a moment before continuing. "I can't remember still but I can feel something. I don't know what it is but…"

"But what?" I ask quietly. While this doesn't make a ton of sense to me, I'll take anything I can get. I guess I'd rather have him not remember me but still love me than remember me and not. I can't believe it's come to me thinking that but in this sort of situation I guess I have to.

"I want…" he mutters but lets it drift off as something catches his attention and he lets his hold on me go as he walks curiously over to a camera maybe six or seven feet away.

What? What does he want? Me? To feel something? To get out of here? Ugh this is all so frustrating.

"Gale." I state, trying to get his attention but he shushes me, gesturing with his hand without looking away from the camera to come over. Curiosity overtakes me because I know he wouldn't have shushed me if it wasn't something big, something important. I find him looking through a camera that isn't at the level all the other ones are, its maybe six inches higher. And strangely enough, I find that there are two of them. Without looking away Gale taps his finger for me to look into it nearby the other camera and I get on my tiptoes to look.

I find myself looking at an office, as neat and clean and dull as all the rest of District 13. But inside of it I find Coin and a Capitol teenager with pink hair on the other side of the desk and for some reason she seems to be squirming. I can't really see her hands but by the way she's tensed up and seems to be trying to move her arms that lay on the armrests I'd assume that she's bound there in some way.

"Let me go! Why are you doing this?" she cries, and I recognize the voice. It's that girl that I met, the same one as Gale met. Leta.

"It's for your own good." Coin insists as she stands from her seat, some kind of syringe in her hand.

"How is this for my own good? You're forcing me to be someone I'm not." The girl insists, clearly angry and still struggling to get out of the chair as Coin slowly walks around the desk. She slightly quirks an eyebrow before answering.

"Dear, you are vital to our plan or don't you know that?" Coin questions her. "Your identity is being concealed for your own good."

"I'd rather be myself if you're using me to spy." The girl replies, no longer struggling but almost bars her teeth.

"Do you really expect anyone to talk to you if they knew who you were?" Coin questions, coming right next to the girl, blocking her from my view.

"I'm a rebel. You know that." The girl insists. Coin leans down without answering and I sense the girl's head lull back in her seat, eyes closed and relaxed. I half irrationally think that Coin killed her but that wouldn't make much sense with what they were talking about. Still, I feel slightly better once Coin walks back to her desk and I can sense her soft breathing from the tiny rise and fall of her chest.

"In more ways than one dear." Coin mutters and goes back to working on something. I'm still looking through the camera, striving for answers when I feel a hand on my back and I turn to find Gale looking at me.

"She is Leta then." He mutters and I nod in response. No matter what Coin insists everywhere else, she just admitted that this Vibia girl is not Vibia. The girl's voice was the same but even she didn't sound like Leta. Leta was a bubbly spirited girl and from what Rory mentioned Vibia is a more serious person trying to help with the plans. But this girl…she was angry and frustrated. Clearly being used.

"But why?" I whisper out loud. Why doesn't Coin want anyone to know that this girl they think is from the Capitol is actually a girl from District 5? Why are Gale and I the only ones that know the truth.

"Maybe we weren't meant to know her real identity but we do. Maybe that's why Coin wanted her to spy on us." Gale guesses and I shrug. Nothing really makes sense. Well…nothing except that this poor girl has to be someone else against her will clearly. I wonder if that syringe was filled with something to make her act differently.

"Still doesn't make much sense." I mutter and Gale shrugs.

"What does?" he asks rhetorically and when I don't respond he changes the topic. "Come on, we still need to find a way out of here."

I nod because we do; if we're in here much longer someone's going to get suspicious of our absence. But I know if we can find a way out than we can always find a way back in. I'm not entirely all for spying but clearly Coin has something up her sleeves that no one else knows about and if I have a way to monitor that than I'll take it.

If only I had a way to spy on Snow all these years.

Johanna's POV

I pace back and forth in the bunkers, clearly the only person here. I'm not even supposed to be here but it's alright. I don't know of any place here in District 13 that doesn't probably have cameras or bugs so this is probably the best place to meet. After all, what use is there to look at the cameras very often down here right now? Not much I could think of.

Where the hell is he? He should have been here by now. Did the meeting go bad? Did she not go with the blackmail? Is he being tortured or even killed right now for the things he knows? No, don't be stupid Johanna; that would only cause her more problems. Because then people would get suspicious. And lucky me, I have all the information they could want to punish her for that little move. Not that she knows that but even Coin isn't stupid enough to punish Finnick without a good reason because she will feel the backlash. Rebels are different than the Capitol. We want something different, not the same. And she has to at least appear to believe the same if she really doesn't.

I keep pacing for at least another ten agonizing minutes more before the door creaks open and I hear my name whispered. I softly bang on the wall of the compartment I'm in and a few seconds later he's quietly opening and closing the door, facing me. He looks weary and drained, and for once I can't tell how it went.

"Well?" I question him, desperate to know what's going on.

"No trial." He confirms and I breathe a sigh of relief. But…he doesn't look relieved at all. Why doesn't he look relieved?

"What is it?" I ask the burning question. Because if it was a successful blackmail he shouldn't look so…well white. He's paler than he should be and for some reason that scares me. Very few things frighten Finnick, and I would have to say that the only one I could think of would be if something happened to Annie. But if that was the case then he would probably be on the floor. No he looks more scared than agonized.

He shakes his head, eyes closed and I know something is wrong. "You still have that book?"

"Finnick, what is it?" I demand to know, ignoring his question. He averts my steady demanding gaze and repeats his question.

I sigh in frustration but nod. "Yeah I have it." He nods but doesn't answer me again. Why is it so important that I have that book? Why is he not telling me what's wrong?

What the fuck is going on here?

"Finn…" I start to question again but he surprises me by covering my mouth with his hand and shaking his head with a drained expression. It's enough to make me shut up as I wait for him to say something.

"Get out of here. Go back to seven." He insists in a low voice whispered in my ear. I pull away and give him my best what? face. He sighs deeply and comes closer again, pulling me into an embrace as he whispers again.

"Things are dangerous, Jo. Much more than I expected. Get that book and leave. We can't trust everyone we thought we could."

"What do you want me to do?" I ask him in his ear as he rubs my back and I pretend to be upset for the cameras. Because really, what other reason would we be like this?

"Keep it safe and yourself. I'll send someone once I know exactly who we can trust." He whispers back.

"Why?" I ask again, the question that keeps burning through me. None of this makes any sense. Why would a successful blackmail make him insist that I leave with his book of secrets?

With a sigh he whispers it to me in a low voice and my eyes go wide, not so much in fright as his are but more in anger. Why that…

He pulls away and wipes my eyes as if I was in tears. "Go. I'm sorry but you know why I can't." he insists in a normal voice and I pretend to the best I can through my anger to be sad and walk away. But really I'm boiling with anger inside and I wish I could kill plenty more people than I thought I wanted to.

Because he's right? Who can we really trust if the people we thought we could we can't?

All that's left to do is keep that vital information out of their hands at any cost. Besides, I hate this fucking place anyway.

Effie's POV

As I strut down the colorful streets of the place that has been my home my whole life in a brightly colored poufy sleeved fashionable outfit with sparkly orange heels, I somehow don't feel at home anymore. The fashionable outfits don't bring me the joy that they used to like when all that mattered to me was being successful and having the envy that came with my job of the District 12 escort for the Hunger Games. Walking down these streets that are filled with people dressing and acting like me, because we are privileged and entitled to the best of everything somehow doesn't make me feel like I'm entitled any more. Maybe this just comes with the territory of knowing too much. Or maybe it's just me seeing the light.

As I listen into the conversations on my way to tea with friends at a posh penthouse near the heart of the city, most of what I hear is complaining. Some about the lack of food from bad weather though luckily the grain is finally easily coming through again from District 9, some complaining about the lack of new designs for clothes and music chips that they can't get easily. Why don't they realize that they aren't getting things because the districts controlled by the rebels aren't sending them? Are they that naive or stupid or do I just know too much. But strangely enough, I do not feel pity for them nor can I be sympathetic any longer. Maybe being a rebel is better for the country but I don't feel as if I'm quite me anymore. But I have to at least appear to be.

Once I arrive for tea I'm among friends that aren't as naïve as some of the Capitol. They are higher up in their status, some because of their husbands and some because of their money. But either way, they all are aware of the rebellion and the districts being taken. There is some complaining and some mutterings of not understanding which I only join in on for my cover, but my heart is not in it. And I'm still thoroughly frightened that I will be caught as the one who planned that little scene in the street to distract people from Gale and Finnick's rescue though not one peacekeeper has come knocking on my door as of yet. But I can't act like I have something to hide. It just wouldn't do.

"Have you heard about what's going on in District 13?" one of the ladies here questions the group and some shake their heads, but one nods.

"Oh yes. Tragic, isn't it?" she sighs.

"What?" I ask. Do they know of the torture that poor doctor told me about that worked on Gale?

"It appears our lovely couple Katniss and Gale are no longer together!" she reveals and I gasp in real shock. No question I need to act on this one. This is news to me for certain. I thought that through everything that they would be unbreakable. They always have been it seems.

"No!" another lady gasps and the same woman, Barvial nods with a sigh, a tragic frown thought I doubt she sees how horrible her words truly are.

"Yes. Apparently Gale no longer wants Katniss or poor Makenna. He found some new girl named Leta or something that he keeps talking about here in the Capitol and brought her with them to District 13."

"That's horrible!" someone gasps and I have to agree. Is this just a rumor or is it true? I feel like I need to find out because if it is true then this is very bad. Meaning if it is, I suppose whatever torture that worked on him probably had something to do with it. But I can't simply take these words to heart from these ladies. They may be more aware than most of the Capitol but they are still gossipers like most Capitol women. I need to know from someone who would have a better idea.

Or maybe I simply don't want it to be true.


	21. Whispers

Finnick's POV

When did everything get so screwed up? Answer; when the rebellion failed the first time. But this isn't how this one was supposed to go by far. It was supposed to be well planned. Accurate. The least amount of lives lost possible.

So much for that.

It's planned alright, just not in the way I thought it was. I have many secrets but the one I found today most definitely wasn't one of them. But the problem is that they have far more over me than I do them. They could always tell people that I've gone crazy. That the Capitol changed me and I'm spitting out nonsense. Take Annie away from me or worse…

It never ends.

And so while I don't have my trial I might as well have. I mean really, I can't leave. Not only will they be watching my every move from now on because they know I have something (or really, two somethings) over them, I can't do shit. All I can do is get others safe and have them do it for me. Because if I leave or try to get Annie out of here…well, there's no telling what they might do to either of us. But I still need to make this right. You know, now that I think I know who I can trust which happens to be a lot less than I originally believed.

But first thing was first; get that damn book out and get someone out who I can trust, and trust to get things done. The book needs to go only because I need to get it out of their grimy traitorous hands; if the Capitol used the information I gave them to take back some of the districts then Coin can use that too in her own way. And there are still a few things that I don't ever want her to know that are hidden in that book. Luckily I have Johanna.

Really, she's the only person I trust to get this done right. No one knows that she can read or knows some of those more tantalizing secrets and most of all, they don't have anything to hover over her head like me. I have Annie to think of. In a sick horrible way, it's almost good that she has no one left to love because she can help save lots of people by it. By her being able to get away with leaving means that we can fix things before they even come into being. I mean, it's already been set in motion, but maybe we can fix it somehow. I'm still working on it but I hopefully have time to figure it out.

As I walk down the halls desperate for any idea to magically hit me, strangely enough I get physically hit. Not on purpose I'm sure but the two people that fell to the ground with me throw me for a loop.

"What the…" I begin, taking them in. Both look flustered but relieved to be here somehow. Where the hell did they even come from? I'm not that blind and they wouldn't have just run into me. Wait, why are they together in the first place? I thought that Gale still didn't remember Katniss or Kennie.

"Sorry." Gale mumbles. "Glad it was you and not someone else though."

"Where…" I begin again, but I see them look at each other and I realize that whatever the hell is going on it probably shouldn't be discussed in the hall. I'm sure there are cameras watching us here. "Follow me." I decide, demanding it quietly. After looking around for a place to talk to Johanna for hours and the best thing I could come up with was the bunkers I explored a little more down there. In a bit of searching I found the boiler room; nice and loud. I couldn't really hear myself even when I screamed when I was in the actual boiler room but when I went a ways off to the next room, I think what is probably some kind of abandoned control room by the spider webs that don't have a place anywhere else in this tidy dull district that it was safe enough to talk in a whisper. It's the best place to go I've come across anyway.

Thankfully they both trust me enough to not question me (glad to know that they didn't take that away from Gale) and quickly follow me. I keep forcing myself to ignore the urge to look over my shoulder to check that we're alone and not being followed but it's tempting. Checking would make us look suspicious and while I know I'm being watched carefully I can't appear that I'm doing something against them at all. I need them to at least half believe that I'm doing everything I can to avoid any harm to come to Annie. And I am, but unfortunately that requires some risks.

"What's going on?" Katniss questions me once we get to the control room and I shut the door.

"I could ask you the same question." I answer, deciding that I need to know what's going on with them before I tell them anything. It could make a big difference in my plans.

They look at each other and seem to speak in that secret language or whatever that they always used, communicating without speaking. But does that mean…that Gale remembers somehow? I don't even know how that's physically possible.

"Same as when I got back." Gale replies and I crease my brow in confusion. Then…what?

"So…you still don't remember her or Makenna?" I ask him. With an almost exasperated sigh he shakes his head, but unlike before he doesn't seem angry about it. Every other time people have tried to tell him the truth he's been stubborn, refusing to listen.

"No, but I want to." He admits. Hmm, maybe someone finally got into his head. Katniss maybe? It would explain why they were together but not where the hell they came from. It's like they appeared out of thin air and hit me.

"Alright then." I reply, deciding to get more detail on that later. As long as I know that not much has changed in the actual not remembering part I can work with it. "Now care to explain how the hell you two basically came out of nowhere and hit me?"

Again another glance at each other, communicating again. What is this? Gale can't even remember her but they can still talk like that? Or maybe Katniss is the only one doing the silent reading. I guess that would make a little sense. After apparently deciding to trust me with the truth, Katniss turns to me. "Um…well we sort of accidentally found this…hidden hallway behind the walls."

…what? Hidden hallways? Apparently my confusion is apparent because she continues. "I…we think it's some sort of place to spy. There are cameras everywhere basically looking in on hallways, rooms, offices, you name it."

Well that could certainly explain a lot. I wonder if Snow does the same thing? Certainly this has to be something of Coin's doing. I mean really, it would only make perfect sense. "How'd you get out?"

"There were these weird square holes about the same distance as the cameras were on the other side of the hallway. It took a while before we found something that would actually fit into it and the wall kind of…vibrated and when we stepped through it we ran into you." she explains and I shake my head, trying to understand. Vibrating walls? Appearing out of thin air? Spying? If I hadn't known that Coin was corrupt before I certainly do now.

"You think that you can figure out a way to get back into it?" I question them and they shrug.

"Why?" Gale asks.

I take a deep breath, trying to figure out how to even begin to tell them. Well, might as well go to the heart of it first. "Because we can't trust almost anyone. Even some people we thought that we could we really can't."

"Like who?" Katniss questions me. She doesn't seem as surprised as I assumed that she would but she does seem curious. Well she's going to be a hell of a lot more surprised when I tell her who she can't trust.

"Basically don't trust anyone except us, Johanna, Haymitch, and Beetee." I exclaim. I've found that everyone else is basically corrupted in one way or the other.

"And our families." Katniss adds but I stare at her before shaking my head.

"No, you can't. They can't be trusted at all with secrets or Kennie for that matter." I state and they give me hard looks, almost like I'm crazy. Why can't they see? "Please, you have to believe me. Rory and Prim are being not only watched but manipulated and who knows about the rest of your family."

"What do you mean manipulated?" Gale questions me, struggling to believe that he can't trust the people he thought that he always could. I know how hard of a struggle that can be but it's the truth. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes in Coin's office when I barged in to blackmail her I wouldn't have believed it myself.

"When I went into Coin's office to…do something, I walked in on a doctor and Coin in a separate room connected to her office. I snuck in and saw both of them unconscious in chairs and the doctor was administering something, and…checking Prim's stomach on a machine." I try to explain.

"What do you think they were doing?" Gale questions me, but Katniss just stares at me and I know she's trying to process the last part of my explanation.

"Tracker jacker venom. I don't exactly know why but I know it when I see it." I answer Gale first, half shuddering at the thought. That was the worst, seeing that poor girl screaming for help as they changed her in that prison. She was only trying to help us and she knew it was dangerous, but she didn't know just what Snow was planning.

"…what do you mean Prim's stomach?" Katniss finally asks and I grimace. She isn't going to like this one.

"She's pregnant; about four months along." I state and take a breath, staring into her eyes. "Almost had a miscarriage earlier." I try to explain but she's not getting it. "Right about the time you came back from District 2."

Gale just looks at me funny, trying to figure out what this has to do with anything. But as the wheels turn in Katniss's mind…I see when she figures it out. First in disbelief and then confusion and anger roll along.

"I was never pregnant, was I?" Katniss questions me and with a large exhale I shake my head.

"No."

"But…why would they lie to me about that? What was the point?" she goes on and I'm about to explain when Gale cuts in.

"Wait what? I thought we were married?" he questions Katniss and she looks about as confused as I am.

"Um yeah, we are." She clarifies even though it's not really necessary.

"Then how could you have thought you were pregnant?" he demands to know and I think I know where this came from. But you have got to be kidding. Katniss would have never in a million years cheated on Gale not to mention the fact that she was barely functioning for a week when she got her apparently. Either from depression or what I don't know but even the thought that she would be interested in anyone else is ridiculous.

"I thought it was the last time we…you know…before the Games. The time past seemed to make sense." Katniss assures him. He seems a bit more pacified by this but not entirely sure. It would have to be really strange to try to get mad about something you can't even remember. Apparently he's just going off what should be at this point. But I guess it's nice to know that he probably wouldn't cheat on her even in this state either. Makes their plan a lot more difficult to execute if it isn't true.

"But anyway," I continue what I was going to explain to Katniss before Gale interrupted. "Prim lied because she was manipulated to. She truly doesn't realize that it was her and not you I'd guess." I explain just to help her get her head wrapped around it. It can't be easy to know that she can't trust her own sister. The same sister she volunteered for the Hunger Games for. "And why…well I'm still figuring that out."

"What do you know?" Gale questions me and I feel somehow hesitant to tell them. They certainly aren't going to like it.

"What do I know?" I begin. A lot and not much of anything at the same time. Frustrating as hell. "That Johanna is going to escape with my black notebook that you found Katniss because we need it out of their hands, besides the fact that I need someone I trust on the outside. I know that things here are not what we thought they were. And I do know that whatever the hell you do, keep Makenna safe."

"I would do that one anyway." Katniss rolls her eyes, but she doesn't really understand the enormity of this. And to be honest, I sort of don't either.

"Look, I don't know specifics, but Snow wants Makenna. Badly. And I don't trust anyone except the people I named with her and you shouldn't either." I tell them.

They luckily nod, knowing that keeping her safe is the priority. It always was anyway. But they seem to be getting along right now and that isn't going to be good for them to show Coin specifically. If she realizes that they aren't fighting or anything she may do something far worse.

"Another thing. You two are getting along now?" I question them just to be sure. They both nod but I see a hint of a blush appear on Katniss's cheeks. What's that about? I internally shake my head. Some things I just shouldn't ask.

"Don't let anyone else know. Pretend you were just as you were a few weeks ago." I declare and they shake their heads in confusion and almost anger. "Please, fight. Pretend you aren't getting along. Katniss be frustrated with him. Gale pretend that even if you still don't remember you don't want to. That we're all crazy."

"Why?" Gale demands and I let out a half exhale, half groan.

"Because Coin might do something to make it go back to that if you appear to get better. She's evil." I explain, dancing around the horrible information I have. She may not know that I realize at least part of her plan, but she does know I know something that could be vital. The rebels won't like it at all because it means that something far worse will most likely come along.

"What does it matter if we get along or not then?" Katniss asks.

"Because if you really are but appear to not be then we can strike back when it counts the most. I'm telling you, she's a horrible vial person though she doesn't appear to be." I explain to them.

"Sounds like something Snow would do." Gale mutters. Oh if he only knew how closely he hit the nail on the head. Maybe it's time to let them know. After all, this secret wasn't meant to be known by just me, Johanna, and those involved.

"Exactly." I nod. "If…if I tell you something that I know, something that's in that black book of mine, do you think you will be able to keep it?"

They both nod but I need to make absolutely sure. "You can't go screaming it to the world. Everywhere else you have to pretend for at least a while that you don't know this information. It's vital for it to stay under wraps at least for now." For the plan and to save my own ass…and Annie's for that matter because that's who they would probably take it out on to punish me further. The whole reason that I'm being closely watched.

Because knowledge is power. I've collected secrets for years and years in the hopes that one day the rebels could put it to good use. Things about important Capitolites, the things they know and have access to. Things about Snow that could aid in turning people against him that weren't already, sealing the support and loyalty of those already on board and those that we need who weren't previously. Whispered secrets after a 'good time' that stumbled out of sometimes drunk women, sometimes completely sober women who would do anything to please me so that I would please them a little more in return. They used me but I could use them back. It's not the best system and one I certainly wish that I never had to participate in in the first place, but effective nonetheless.

It wasn't until about a year ago I stumbled upon this little secret. A teenage girl, on the young end of those who buy me. But she was stone cold sober when she told me this particular secret, seeing as she had something against the dear old President that she hated so thoroughly for many reasons. I didn't know it at the time, but she probably pretended that she was drunk if only because she may have been watched. It wouldn't do to give this information sober or otherwise but she wanted me to know. In a way, I think she knew that I could put it to good use. Almost as if she knew that she couldn't do it herself as effectively or at all.

"You really want to know?" I grimace. They both stare at me with a nod, serious expressions plastered on their faces. I know I can trust them completely, I always have. But they will probably take this a hell of a lot worse than either I or Johanna did. If only because they have more at stake.

"Snow and Coin are siblings."


	22. Safe

Katniss's POV

As soon as Finnick reveals what he knows I feel drained. Weary. Anger seeping through my veins. Because in a sick sort of way, it makes perfect sense. The bitter rivalry seems like one siblings could easily have, the animosity between each other for years finally built up enough to become some sort of explosion. Their treachery similar in fashion though executed differently. A family rivalry that affects the whole of Panem.

After all these years, I like to think that I know how Snow operates. He's heartless yes, but he doesn't go around lying to me about what his evilness is. He does whatever it takes to keep his power and strikes deals that he sometimes tries to trigger himself but always honors. So yes he's evil and I hate him, but at least Snow I can somewhat understand. I can predict what he will do next.

Unlike Coin.

I got the vibe that she didn't really like me from the beginning, but I thought it had more to do with the fact that I was refusing to let me or my seven year old be the symbol of the rebellion. Or maybe because she expected me to be grateful that both of us were safe after District 13's efforts to get us here and I wasn't. All I wanted was Gale and he wasn't there; no, they had left him there to be tortured and changed by the Capitol. But I never expected her to spy on me or try to do something like Snow. I thought she hated Snow because of the Hunger Games, because of the awfulness in the districts while the Capitol lived like kings. And I guess that's probably still true, but now that I know this…I doubt that it's all of it.

Finnick seems to think that Snow has some sort of plan and that he wants Kennie, but he doesn't know why. To be honest, I don't really know why either. The only reason I can think of is to use something against me and Gale for that matter because if he so much as threatened to harm her I would surrender. Just like that. But then you have to take into account that Coin is spying on me and Gale, that Snow probably is too. I get why Snow is, I don't get why Coin would. What does she want from us? Why should we pretend we aren't alright (or sort of alright) if we are? If this is some sort of sibling rivalry, then you would think that she would want to keep the very thing Snow wants most away from him. I don't know what that has to do with Gale and I getting along or not, but I trust Finnick enough to do it. It doesn't mean I have to like it, but I'll do it. For Kennie.

"Where is she now?" Finnick asks me and I think back. Um…oh right, we saw her with Posy earlier. But she can't be there. Ugh, I hate that we can't entirely trust our own family anymore. Not with Prim and Rory for sure being manipulated somehow. Really, the only reason I can think of for that is to give us false information, but for what? What purpose is there in making me believe that I had a miscarriage? Just to not give me the pain medication for a few days? No, that doesn't really make sense. It's sadistic, yes, but somehow I don't see that being the reason Coin would do that. So…there must be another reason.

"With Posy." I state to him. I don't really see how we can't trust Posy because she's only a fourteen year old girl, but I'm not taking chances with Kennie. If Victors are the only people Finnick thinks we can trust because he clearly knows more than I do, then I need to find a way to get them to watch Kennie always. Easier said than done in that case. We all have some sort of role all the time in this rebellion.

Finnick sighs and then gives me an apologetic frown. "You know we need to get her to someone else, don't you?"

I nod with a sigh. "Yeah. I can be with her most evenings but not during the day."

"I can take her." Gale almost pleads quietly and I look at him. His eyes are…almost begging for it. He must really want to remember us. It makes me feel a whole lot better even if nothing is right still. He shouldn't have to be like this at all, and we shouldn't even be going through this. It's just…so unfair and wrong.

"Gale…you know you can't. You aren't supposed to remember her." Finnick reminds him, clearly not exactly happy about it either.

"I don't remember, but I want to know her." He mumbles bitterly, but I know that he'll do what he has to do regardless. And I just feel so bad for him because he does want it. And I know Kennie misses him and it would make her so happy to have her Daddy back under any circumstance, no matter if he really remembered or not. She's only seven, a child doesn't go into specifics like I do. As long as he's there and willing to be with her I'd bet that she wouldn't care about the rest.

"We can try to get her to spend time with you." I say in a low voice and he looks at me, almost as surprised as I was by him actually wanting to know us though he doesn't remember.

He gives me a grateful look first, then a frown. "The cameras. They're everywhere."

Oh right. So much for that plan. Gosh, life was so much easier when we didn't have to pretend something for our own family.

"Well…I might actually have an idea for that." Finnick declares and both of our heads snap to him, my eyebrow quirked waiting for an answer. "We can trust Beetee and he's always in weaponry with Albert after he's done with school. Kennie can go down there with them and Gale can go to help Beetee with the strategies."

I don't quite understand what he's saying because I don't see the difference it will make but Gale seems to.

"You want me to…what? Turn my snares into weapons?" Gale almost spits out in disgust. And I see it as a horrible thing too, but I can actually see it working. He's a genius with snares and traps, it couldn't possibly be too hard to turn them into weapons. But I need to focus on keeping Kennie safe more than the war.

"You wouldn't really have to but that would be a valid reason you were there. And Beetee can easily turn off the cameras in that room so that you can spend time with Kennie." Finnick reminds him. Gale still doesn't seem too happy about the weapon designing thing but appears to be pacified and content with seeing Kennie. Of course Beetee can turn off the cameras; why didn't I think of that before?

"Yeah okay. It's better than nothing." Gale finally agrees.

"Good. I have to try to get plans going but…this is where you're going to have to start acting again. Our voices won't be masked by the boilers after this." Finnick says with a sort of frown and leaves us there in the doorway. I turn to Gale, wondering what to say. It sounds incredibly stupid but I don't know what to do.

"I…well…" I begin to stutter but he surprises me by kissing me lightly on the lips. I open my eyes in a sort of shock, a blush creeping onto my cheeks without my permission. He looks a little bashful and I have to admit that I sort of like it.

"I really am sorry I can't remember and that we have to act like this." Gale states in a low voice. "But…"

"I know." I reply. Because I do. Even if I don't want to we're playing with fire even now. And a fire we don't even know what it is to boot. Until we can know what Coin and Snow for that matter are really up to we can't do anything I really want to. What I've missed for so long.

Maybe I can go down to Beetee's too.

With one last sigh Gale motions for me to go first and with a nod from Gale to begin acting I stomp my foot and stalk out of there, an annoyed and angry mask on my face. Well, that's not too hard to find in myself; I'm certainly angry and annoyed, but not at Gale to be honest. Well, maybe a little but it's getting better.

Eventually I make my way up to where I saw Kennie last and luckily find her still there, this time with Hazelle reading her a story while Kennie appears to be almost asleep. Oh right, it's about bedtime. How long was I really in that hidden hallway?

"Sorry." I apologize to the room. "I got caught up in stuff." I excuse myself. Well yeah I sort of was, but not in Command.

"It's alright. I know you're busy." Hazelle smiles as she strokes Kennie's hair. I really hate to do this to them because they love Kennie, I know they do. But when it comes to my daughter I need to keep her safe no matter what. Just because you love someone doesn't mean that you can't be manipulated to hurt them. A prime example being Gale…or Prim for that matter.

I come over to Kennie and gently pick her up, thinking under her solid weight that she's getting too old for this though she's still so young. But she's on the edge of sleep and I'm not going to wake her up just because of that.

"Goodnight. I'll pick her up from school tomorrow so that you can work." Hazelle says and I try to hide my frown. She isn't going to like this but I have to excuse it somehow.

"Actually you won't have to. She's going to play with Albert, Beetee's nephew tomorrow after school. He wants to see her so I figured tomorrow was as good a time as any." I state, trying not to look at her but failing. She frowns slightly and seems a bit disappointed, and then her frown deepens.

"Oh. Doesn't Albert stay with Beetee in Weaponry?" she questions me and I nod in confirmation. "Is that really safe for her?"

"They won't touch anything." I promise. She still doesn't look too pleased with the decision but she knows that it's my daughter and I'm not going to do whatever anyone else wants me to do. With a goodbye I take Kennie to our own room and place her in my own bed, lying next to her. As I wrap my arms around her tiny resting body I can't help but wish that I could always keep her this safe myself but I know I can't. Something like that needs to change and quick because she's in far more danger than she should be or needs to be.

Gale's POV

I didn't necessarily like it, but I mentioned in Command the day after Finnick revealed to us that tantalizing little secret of Snow and Coin being brother and sister to Katniss and I that I had the idea to turn my snares and traps into weapons. Everyone in Command seemed pleased with my willingness to help in such a vital way but all it did was make me cringe on the inside. It's not that I don't hate the Capitol and that I would do anything to end this war, it's the thought that I'm turning my snares once again into human killing machines. It was bad enough to have to do it in the arena the first Hunger Games I was in; to have to do it again to multiple people is not something I really wish to do. I had really hoped that my traps were done with human blood.

But I guess they have a point; the real reason I'm doing this is to spend time with my daughter. And even if I actually have to produce some sort of designs just to prove that's the reason I'm down there, I guess I could always make sure that they aren't ever used. I could either destroy them or have Beetee put them in a secret file I guess, and it gets 'accidentally' lost or something.

Coin seems the most pleased by this and despite knowing that I need to pretend I don't know what I do I can't help secretly studying her. With her look of slush she appears to not have the Capitol look at all, but her similarities now that I'm looking for them are easier to see. She has the same sort of drive for power and authority that Snow has. The way she holds herself appears to be similar too. But…she doesn't look Capitolite at all. Maybe they were both originally from District 13 then? That seems unlikely. Maybe the solution is that she grew up in the Capitol and changed her appearance like so many do there into this; something so opposite of Snow and the Capitol that no one would realize that they were related.

Luckily they have no trouble in me starting right away in Beetee's office/home (because really, I don't think he actually leaves all that often) and I quickly make my way down there. He nods when he sees me, clearly knowledgeable of why I'm really here somehow (I suspect Finnick) and since Makenna and Albert aren't out of class yet he shows me around and some of the designs already. He must also know that I'm not quite willing to actually design yet because he doesn't ask, dragging out the show and tell of his office to me right until the kids come in. He switches something and messes with a few buttons before tapping my hand to get my attention. I had been staring at Makenna, still trying to see her in my life. I only find a headache like always but that only makes me feel almost better now. It makes me think that it really is true because I don't get a headache when I try to think of other kids as my own.

"The cameras are off now." Beetee reveals in a low voice. I give him a grateful glance and a half smile before I tentatively get up and go over to Makenna. She and Albert are playing some sort of game but once Albert sees me coming over he leaves the table with a sort of smile, going over to one of the cots to read. Did Beetee tell him about what's really going on to? I mentally shrug, at the moment just grateful to spend time with Makenna.

"Hi." I say to her and she looks at me. "What are you doing?" I ask her quietly.

"Playing a game." She states, though that's clear. She seems a little wary of me and I think it's probably because of how I've acted towards her since I got her. It makes me feel guilty but I really do want to make it better.

"Can I play with you?" I question her and she finally nods. We start playing quietly but in a few minutes I've got her giggling and smiling, talking more and more. How could I possibly not remember her? She's adorable.

Once the game is over she gets up and starts running around, and with a grin I start chasing her around the room as she shrieks in delight. At one point she climbs onto a table and then a filing cabinet, easily eight feet off the ground. It's not really the safest place for her to be but she doesn't seem to worried.

"Look how high I am Daddy!" she exclaims in delight and though I get a headache from it I can't help but feel a little satisfied. Daddy. That's me. Damn it Gale, why can't you remember?

But I can at least act like I do. "I see you sweetie. But why don't you come down. I'll catch you." I promise to her and she seems alright with it. I easily catch her as she jumps down and I spin her around, earning another round of giggles from her. Gently putting her down afterwards, she surprises me by hugging my leg and burying her face into my stomach.

"I missed you Daddy." She mumbles into my stomach and though I feel a surge of guilt and another round of headaches, I sigh in content. Because somehow I can feel this is right. I'll live with the headaches if this makes her even a little happy. I'll get this as much as I possibly can.

"I missed you too." I say. And as crazy as it sounds because I can't remember, somehow it's true.

"Gale." Beetee's voice sounds out in almost alarm. I glance up to find him staring at a screen with a frown and creased eyebrows. "Come over here."

With a sigh I know that something is probably wrong and I have to act again. I don't really want to but I manage to get Makenna off of me and Albert distracts her and she goes over to the bed where he's currently sitting, me going over to Beetee. Beetee turns the cameras on again and not two minutes later I glance at the door and it opens, one of Coin's lackeys and Plutarch coming through the door, deep frowns on their faces.

Beetee and I look at them expectantly and Plutarch appears to try to speak, but doesn't seem to know where to start.

"You know how we sent those hovercrafts to collect people from each district to bring them here?" he questions us. I shake my head confused because I had no clue but Beetee nods. Ignoring my cluelessness, Plutarch goes almost white and stutters.

"Well…we uh…one of them crashed near the District seven and eight border." Plutarch exclaims, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

"Were there any of the guests on it?" Beetee questions him. Plutarch shakes his head but still grimaces.

"No but um…well Johanna Mason was." Plutarch reveals. "There weren't any survivors."


	23. Myself

Johanna's POV

"It's just about five miles west and then you go due north for eleven miles before you're back at District 7." the recently appointed second-in-command of District 8 informs me, none other than Cecilia's daughter Lucy, now a young woman in her early twenties that has the hard creases and lines on her face as well as the scars from someone who has seen much fighting and harm. She was trained for a Hunger Games she never ended up having to participate in, and yet her training has still come wildly in handy as this rebellion continues. She is trusted with much as a Victor's daughter, especially since a rebel peacekeeper is in charge here and she needed a little help from Lucy to get all the rest of the district on board with trusting her.

"Got it." I nod, peeking in the pack that Finnick gave me before I boarded the hovercraft. We didn't really know many ways that I could easily get to District 7 or anywhere for that matter so that I could be the true eyes and ears for those who are really on our side, so this was what I came up with myself. Fake death had worked for Haymitch, it could certainly work for me too. Though it sounds bad, I can't help but not really care too much that all the others on that hovercraft died. They were on Coin's side which is basically as bad as being on Snow's if not worse. After making sure that the body of some dead girl we kind of stole and put on the hovercraft which was supposed to pretend to be me when they came looking for bodies, I slipped out of my fireproof tiny closet of a thing and made sure in the dead of night that I wasn't seen by anyone except Lucy and the commander here in District 8, a no nonsense woman by the name Paylor. Once they confirmed that it was really me they sheltered me for the night in some hidden bunker in the woods and Paylor went back while Lucy stayed with me for the night to give me directions towards my old home.

"You sure you don't need anyone to go with you? I have a few people that I-" Lucy begins, but I cut her off.

"I'm fine on my own. I don't need anyone and it wouldn't help much." I insist, mostly because I really don't want the company. But it's also because I have a damn hard time trusting anyone but who I know I can right now; it's bad enough that Finnick made me promise to trust Lucy and that Paylor woman.

She sighs but drops the subject. "Alright. Here." she replies, handing me some sort of bag. "It's enough food to last about a month if you're careful. I'm sorry I can't give you more."

"I can find food myself." I assure her, because I can. Especially since I was pleased to find that Finn packed me not one, but two axes as well as a pistol. The pistol I'm not going to touch except for the wildly off chance that someone comes looking for me, but the axes I can use to bring down food. I may not be a hunter like Katniss or Gale, but I can damn well take down anything with an ax.

"Alright. Good luck." Lucy exclaims and I nod.

"You too." I reply even though it's ridiculously not me to do. But I don't really give a shit. She's going to need it a hell of a lot more than me because she's on her way back to climb aboard the next hovercraft to District 13 for some all districts meeting to get District 1 back. Apparently District 9 has already been recovered though they never told us. It makes you wonder what the fuck their goal is to keep us in the dark on something like that. "Be careful with who you trust."

In response she gives me a wry smile. "If I wasn't already I would've been dead several times over by now." Well at least she knows what she's getting into. With a nod goodbye I turn into the woods, following her directions.

It takes me a few days but I finally get to the edge of District 7 and even though I knew it was destroyed, even though I pretended not to care…somehow seeing it for myself is a shock to my system. It's not that it's destroyed, it's feeling the full effect of it. The burnt trees in different stages of rotting mixed with the ashes covering the ground. The ruins of houses not because what was once a town is now piles of rubble, but the bones of people around them, some still looking remarkably human even after being charred and blackened. And how my district which always no matter what smelled of pine, freshening the air now smells like bombs and rotting things. It's very much not what my home used to be. Here I can hardly imagine the better days when my family was alive and I was just a little girl who loved two things; my family and playing with my ax. And the irony never ceases to crush me every time I realize that because I used one I destroyed the other.

Making my way past what used to be one of the villages of District 7 I find myself in a few hours in the heart of the district, in what used to be the town square where I was reaped years ago, where I was on that stage year after year just so two more kids would be lead to their deaths. It was better not to care about them; none of them were going to make it home anyway. And even if I had the slightest bit of hope in any tribute (it only happened twice in all those years) I never showed it because I knew caring would ultimately make their failure worse for me to take. Or there was someone else who I just knew would win. Or had to.

Like the 74th Hunger Games. I knew right when that boy came up on the stage that he had potential that year. He was one of my neighbors before I became a Victor, a boy that always bullied others. It was hurtful to everyone else but in the Hunger Games it could be to his advantage. It didn't mean that I necessarily liked him at all nor did I want him to win, but I realized he could make it far if he could get past his ego. I gave up when I realized that Gale needed Katniss to win, because for once I wanted to do the right thing. It was bad enough to have to watch Finnick go through with that but I will admit that had something to do with me liking him. I never liked Gale that way in the least but he seemed like…well I don't know. If Finnick liked and trusted him then there had to have been something about him worth knowing. And so I gave up on that bully I knew could go far if I helped him. I let him die in the bloodbath and never looked back.

I don't regret it in the least, but walking down this charred memory lane will do things to you. I need to get out of here before I yell incessantly or something and some camera or bug that's miraculously still on catches on that I'm still very much alive.

I know my old village is still a good hour walk from here and that Victor's Village is only fifteen minutes south, but I really don't feel like staying in either of them. I don't have a fucking clue if Victor's Village was destroyed or not and I'm not entirely on board with living in ruins, especially in a place that brings back too many memories of my family. The family that is dead because of me. Instead I decide to hide out in one of our hidden bunkers that we used to communicate during the rebellion. I know that Finnick will realize that this is where I have gone and know how to get the information from me. Or at least Beetee will.

Automatically going towards the bunker hidden in what looks like a rabbit hole from the outside but is actually a decent sized room hidden in the ground of the forest, the ceiling staying up by the roots of long dead trees now, I turn on the two lights in the place and set my pack down, finally thoroughly going through it. In it I find some more food, the weapons I already knew about, some basic things and a change of clothes, and something I'm surprised to find; a computer of some kind.

I tentatively open it and press the on button, and once it loads I'm surprised to find a video. It's Beetee's voice but it's almost…robotic sounding.

"State your name." the voice demands.

"Johanna Mason." I reply out loud even though I feel retarded. I'm talking to a screen for fuck's sake.

After a minute the voice replies 'welcome' and the screen comes on, but it's another video. This time it's Finnick and Beetee.

"Hey Jo, glad you made it." Finnick begins with that stupid grin of his.

"Johanna, there are a few things." Beetee shoves Finnick aside lightly as he looks at the screen with all seriousness. "This is dangerous but I'm sure you already know that. We're going to do our very best to keep you 'dead' in the minds of everyone, but this means we can have very little communication with you. I won't be able to scramble the waves as easily from this distance so please only contact us if it's an emergency."

I nod to the screen even though that's stupid because they obviously can't see it. Good thing I'm perfectly fine with living by myself. And the plus side is that I can practically do anything I like out here if I'm not looking for our information.

"The contacts that you can trust are listed under the people tab on this computer and the times that they can speak to you. If you call at any other time it could be disastrous for our plan." Beetee continues. I glance down and find the tab and mentally remind myself to go look at it later. "When we can we will send someone to collect any data you have collected and I will send you a warning for that exactly one week prior. Whoever it is will meet you at the same place that you began your journey to District 7 from in the outskirts of District 8. When they come just to make sure ask for the password."

Password? I don't know any password.

"Same as always Jo. Same as always." Finnick answers my unspoken question. Of course, how stupid am I? No, not really, I'm just surprised that Finn wants to use our code with others. It was just ours for a reason.

"And since you can't be here I'll tell you the great news now. Well…I was…Annie and I were wondering if we make it through all this if you would be our baby's godmother?" Finnick reveals and my mouth drops open in shock. "Please tell whoever we send your answer."

…what? But that…and I…ugh fucking Finnick!

Slamming the computer closed because I know I can always watch it again, I decide to take my own advice for once. If I'm hurt, I turn it into anger. And I'm all alone in this huge district with two axes on my side.

Time to get my month supply of firewood.

Vibia's POV

"But won't that just make them realize that the other group is vulnerable?" that chick named Katniss questions the table. She's the one that President Coin wants me to watch. I'm still not really sure why but I do it anyway. It certainly helps that I can be in these meetings because I'm important. Of course I'm important, why wouldn't I be? But even though I don't say it because Miss President might get mad at me, I think this chick has a point. The plan seems stupid to me and I basically know nothing about war. Only what my Daddy taught me because he was a Gamemaker.

"No, because they'll be too distracted. Plus we will at least make sure the front line of that squad has the proper weapons." One of the commanders, I think his name is Hodges or something from District 10 replies to her. All these people her from the districts is distracting, but it's almost like watching the Hunger Games. Well, aside from the fact that no one is her from District 7 and no one here is trying to kill each other.

"She has a point." Someone from District 4 adds to the argument, some guy named Weever. He came with that poor Carper who's in a wheelchair now. Too bad, he was such a hottie. I wanted Daddy to buy him for me once like my friend Junnie did but he wouldn't let me. Stupid Daddy. Well haha, now I get to see him myself and I didn't even have to dish out money.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be safe for that squad even if the front line had weapons." Carper argues to the table.

"It will make for marvelous television though." Plutarch replies. "Just think, all those famous faces wielding weapons right before dropping them and storming the building."

"There's a little problem with that." Gale Hawthorne argues. Really, I don't know why he's even here. Last I heard he didn't even want to be in the same room as that Katniss girl ever. Which is really funny because they are married apparently; even have a kid or something. Maybe that's why I'm supposed to spy on them. I've also heard from somewhere that he's dating this Leta chick, not that I've ever seen her. That's just what President Coin mentioned to me one day so I guess she would know more than I would about it. "Did you even think to ask those 'famous faces' if that's what they wanted to do? It's our lives on the line here."

Katniss mutters something and most of the table ignores it but Gale doesn't. He leans on the table where he is across and a few seats down from her, eyes boring into her. "What was that?"

Katniss glares at him before speaking up. "I was saying that some of those faces are only famous together and obviously that's not happening."

The whole rest of the table is silent for a moment before some sigh. "Here we go again." One of the officers sitting next to me mutters under his breath. Apparently this is a pretty common occurrence lately and people are getting annoyed with it. Personally I find it entertaining.

"Again? Really, how many times do I have to remind you that I don't know you and We're not together." Gale argues.

"What? I-"

"Soldiers Hawthorne! If you don't cease your pointless arguments immediately I must ask both of you to leave." President Coin cuts into their yelling and with one last glare at each other they finally stop, neither willing to leave this important meeting obviously. From what I heard Gale just barely got into it anyway, and only because they want him on some 'star squad' of theirs which Plutarch wants to film.

The argument goes on and I find myself being bored, slipping into an almost sleep before something snaps me awake.

I blink a few times and try to figure out where I am. I see that there are a lot of military people here, and some Victors that I recognize from years past. Subtly glancing around I find that god awful Alma going on and on about some strategy. Where am I? Why am I with her? I should be…

Oh right, it's coming back to me now. For some reason I feel like this isn't the first time I've snapped out of something like this because despite not remembering really, it seems vaguely familiar. Coming back to myself, my real self…

Looking around the room again with a new purpose and trying desperately to figure out a way to stay myself because now I realize what was probably done to me, I see both of my intended targets already here. Good, it's better that way. I know for certain somehow that they figured out a way into that hidden hallway behind the walls of the district because I'm pretty sure I opened it for them. Something about…yes! I clicked some button and they both fell into it! That's it!

Thank god they somehow found the hidden latch thing to get out of there or that would have taken some explaining. I should have realized that Alma would have never let me be myself for very long at all. In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't noticed yet. I should act as this bimbo she's got me playing right now for as long as I can so that I can truly explain myself to them. They need to know who I am, that I know that Alma's just as bad of a person as him. Easier said than done when they realize who I am but I need them to trust me. It might be the only way poor Makenna doesn't get the fate that he has planned for her. Lord knows what Alma has planned but it can't be good.

Before I know it the meeting is dismissed for a break and I find Alma coming to me placing a hand on my shoulder. I look up to her but I don't think I hide the anger from my eyes quick enough. Oh great, now she knows that I'm back to myself. I don't want to go back to someone I'm not, not even remembering who or what I am! Just from what I can tell she's got me playing some Capitolite teenager who's obsessed with fashion I'd guess, just like all the other kids who went to my school. But not me; no, I might have pretended for a while just so people would talk to me but it got to the point that I couldn't anymore. That I didn't want to be one of them. Certainly my poor father had something to do with making me that way; it certainly wasn't my weakling of a mother.

"Come dear, you're looking a bit sick. I have something for you in my office." Alma says in her monotone voice as sweet as it can get. Which let's be honest, is really not at all. I mean at least she's honest about her lack of sweetness, unlike him. I hadn't ever trusted him but it was so hard when he pretended to act nice.

"I'm alright actually. Really, I just think I broke a nail." I claim, knowing the second she leads me away I won't be myself anymore. And I so desperately want and need to be myself. I need to get out of this mess soon or I might just go crazy.

"Nonsense dear, I'll take you. We'll be back in five minutes for the rest of the meeting, I promise." Plutarch insists and with a few people looking at me I don't know what else to do. It's probably suicide for me to just shout out who I really am anyway. But it doesn't stop me on my way out from giving Katniss and Gale who are both looking at me from two different conversations a pleading look before I'm whisked away.

I can only hope that they saw it and realize that this girl that I'm forced to be is not really me and they're the ones who catch me being myself next time.


	24. Observe

Effie's POV

"It's not dead here. We just had to go even more underground than before." A man insists, a rebel who doesn't even dare to show me his face. He's a rebel I'm quite certain by what he knows (and the fact that he has not arrested me because I'm one as well like what a peacekeeper would most likely do), but he's frightened. Honestly I can understand that because I have had nightmares about being caught but I still find it quite silly that he must hide himself from me. His reasoning is due to the fact that if any of the rest of us left in the Capitol are caught that they will question us about our fellow rebels. If we don't know much about each other, then there is a less likely chance of more of us being caught or worse.

"But don't we know less?" I question the man. Obviously I don't know much specifically other than what I've been told because I am a more recent rebel, but I do know that several strange coincidences have occurred in the past few months. Odd people going missing, never being heard from again…they must have been rebels that President Snow knew about. Which means we have less and less people helping out here in the Capitol now.

"Not necessarily." The man answers and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. To answer that, he continues, "We know who we can really trust now, even in District 13. Not everyone there are who they appear to be, manipulated to be that way or no. But we still have plenty to give and take."

"Could you give me some example?" I ask him, feeling a little silly that I'm so on the outskirts of everything happening.

"Why certainly." He nods, "For instance, did you know that President Snow wants custody of Makenna Hawthorne?"

"Why?" I gasp, though I don't quite know for certain why I do. After these last few months when I realized that Makenna was purposefully reaped into the Hunger Games I had somewhat realized that President Snow had something to do with it. With all of this. But it still does not make too much sense at all.

He sighs before replying, "We still do not know for certain." He shakes his head and then questions me, "You said that you heard some tantalizing gossip that may come in handy?"

"Well…I suppose it could be. I don't know for sure." I almost stutter and if I was not wearing this make up I'm certain he could see my cheeks blushing. It seems silly of me to think that anything I've heard of my gossiping tea friends could be of any help, but it's by far the only news of District 13 that I've heard not on television yet. And the rumors have to come from somewhere, right?

"Miss, I assure you that almost anything that appears like it could help us most likely can at some point in time." The man exclaims with a small smile and I decide to give him what I know. I so do want to help.

"Well to begin, some of the ladies at my tea group every week always seem to have the newest gossip on them." I reveal, quickly giving him the names of the mentioned ladies. I do feel a little horrible for doing this to them, but honestly I do not have a clue where they receive this information. Certainly they are always the first to know. "And they have told me how Gale and Katniss only speak when they are fighting, how Gale fell in love with some Capitol girl named Leta and brought her to District 13 with him. How he wants nothing to do with Makenna and most recently, how apparently he's secretly proposed to this Leta!" I rush out. It is certainly tantalizing news to me, but perhaps I seem silly to this man; quite clearly whoever he is, he's been a rebel far longer than I have.

"I see." The man nods, and somehow at least some of what I have revealed to him does not seem to surprise him in the least.

"So…is it true?" I question him.

"Some of it." The man nods and I wait for him to reveal just what is. "Gale and Katniss do fight all the time apparently, but it's not what you may think. The Capitol did something to Gale-"

"Yes I know. Dr. Calvus told me that but not specifically." I interrupt automatically, glad I have at least a small bit of information. But it was also quite rude of me and out of character to do so. I begin to apologize but he cuts me off, clearly knowing that I am truly sorry for my bad manners.

"Yes, what they did is made him not remember Katniss or Makenna. It was a mixture of concussions and mindsquito venom which has made it permanent." He tells me and my hand goes to my cheek.

"Oh dear." I gasp. That is simply horrible.

"So the fighting you are most likely hearing about is Katniss attempting to make Gale remember, but by all accounts it has not worked as of yet." The man claims. "Now as for the girl Leta…"

"It's true?" I ask. Honestly that was the one thing I simply did not ever believe was real, even when those ladies at tea described her in full.

"Well…I don't quite believe so, no. You see, both Gale and Katniss have spoken of a Leta, but no one else has ever met her. Meaning that I don't believe those rumors but perhaps she really does exist. Or at least at one point she did." He guesses and I give him a clearly confused look. She exists at one point? What could that even possibly mean? Did she die a horrible death?

"We think…well they believe that President Coin has been doing her own mind changing." He explains, "That perhaps this Leta girl did exist at one point but President Coin has changed her into somebody else."

"Why would she do that?" I question him. The only possible reason I could guess is to quash the rumors about Gale being with her, therefore showing everyone that the Capitol has been lying. If the girl does not exist anymore then the rumors have no validity. It's simple math, but in the gossiping world here in the Capitol it may not matter. I've seen it before, after all.

"We do not know that either, unfortunately." He frowns. "But thank you for this information. Perhaps my contact in District 13 can make something out of it."

"No problem." I smile. "And if it helps, I will continue to bring you all the rumors I hear."

"Of course, please do." He smiles and I beam. Perhaps I do not know everything, but I can still be a helpful rebel to those who really are rebels. Perhaps I can be the greatest rebel there is.

A girl can dream, can't she?

Katniss's POV

"I still don't really see what the point of this is." I grumble and a few others nod in agreement. When I started going to training I thought I was going to be a real soldier. As in I could be helpful, wielding a weapon at the Capitol. Not this. Not some prop for one of Plutarch's propos that gets a weapon but is told not to use it for real. I won't even be on the front lines along with the rest of the 'star squad' which consists of me, Gale (who is still pretending he hates me. It's gotten more difficult since I'm not truly too mad at him personally anymore but we still do it for the others benefit), Carper (who gets to hold a weapon but since he's in a wheelchair I do see the point in him being in the star squad. Victor or no, he's still in a wheelchair.), Lucy, Cecilia's daughter (I suspect more because she's a Victor's daughter and her mother died for the rebellion more than the fact that she's second in command of District 8) and the one I just simply don't understand at all, Annie Cresta.

I mean sure she's a Victor, but she's still mad. And she's not even with Finnick which I understand even less than why she is here. Even if Finnick wasn't allowed to come because Coin clearly doesn't trust him and would never let him out of her sights basically after their little blackmail session, I'm utterly shocked that he somehow didn't manage to get Annie out of the Star Squad. Unless he didn't know…and honestly, that could be the answer. Poor Annie just sits there with the gun laying in her lap that I'm not even certain she knows how to use let alone if she could bring herself to use it. And to top it off, the girl is pregnant. Who sends a pregnant girl into a battle? Only if you want to kill her…or punish Finnick.

"It's for the propos Katniss. You know that." Plutarch reminds me, though he seems almost as annoyed with Annie being here as we do. She doesn't belong here at all and I can sense that Plutarch does not want her here not because she's mad, but because it's for really no good reason. I don't honestly know why Finnick told us we can't trust him because he's never given me any reason to not, but maybe it's the same as Prim and Rory. Maybe he's being controlled somehow or at least forced to tell Coin everything he knows. I didn't entirely believe I couldn't trust Prim anymore until a few days ago. She claimed that she had to check me because of my miscarriage that never actually happened and was spitting out things that she found that I know aren't true. I made absolutely sure that I was never pregnant with the only doctor in 13 that Finnick actually trusts; some man that taught Duncan and never liked Coin. He told me that there was no evidence whatsoever of a miscarriage or a pregnancy just like there shouldn't have been and I believe him. I think I would have realized I was pregnant if I was about three months along; I had no symptoms whatsoever so I honestly have no reason that I believed Prim other than the fact that I never thought she would lie to me (manipulated to I'm certain though I still have no clue why) and that I had searing pain in my side so of course I was a little less focused on the things I should know but didn't think of at that point in time. And she never told me that she was pregnant but now that it's more obvious she does.

"Doesn't mean it's not stupid." I mutter and I sense Gale smirk even though he should still be pretending we aren't getting along. Only Finnick and Beetee know that we're…well not fine I guess but at least not really fighting. If Gale never gets his memory back then at least he seems alright right now with accepting what is true when it comes to Kennie and I. Maybe we could make it work after all. Of course the best thing would be for Gale to get his memories back but honestly, I don't believe in miracles. There really isn't any room for them in the world we live in, especially one where the rebels fighting for the greater good might actually well…probably aren't. Whatever Coin's plan is it can't be good, and whatever Snow's is won't be a lovely thing either.

Plutarch decides to ignore that last comment and the rest of the way to District 1 no one really speaks in our cabin just for our squad and Plutarch. There are a few people in our squad from District 13, like Boggs who is commander again (I do like him but he is too close to Coin to trust completely) and four soldiers that I don't really know. They don't really speak to us Victors much, though if that's because we 'outshine' them or the fact that since they're on our squad they will never see any real action and they would like to I don't know.

Once we arrive, we are all lead to one of the villages in District 1 that is still ran by the rebels. I'm honestly surprised how much and how quickly the Capitol took back most of District 1. I know that probably has something to do with whatever information Finnick gave them while he was being tortured (I don't know what exactly, he's never told me and he doesn't ever talk about his torture in the Capitol. And honestly, I can't find it in myself to blame him. I wouldn't either.) was probably vital enough for them to do so. After Boggs signs our squad in we're lead to where our tents will be and I quickly settle in mine for the night, knowing that our squad has the night off since we just got here and we won't have any duties until morning. What I really want to do is talk to Gale because we need to be more careful about how we act since these Victors know us better than the District 13 soldiers and might catch on to our acting, but I can't do that. I would have no good lie as to why I was going to his tent so I'll have to find a better place we can talk here. Instead, I decide to go visit Annie; I'm sure she could use someone for company that she doesn't have to be scared of anyway.

In the setting sky I find Annie's tent three down from mine and instead of asking for permission to go in because she probably would be too frightened to answer anyway, I slowly open the flap and peek inside. She's sitting on the lone cot in there, her hands protectively over her stomach but her eyes seem vacant and not there. I sigh, wishing that Finnick was here…no, wishing she wasn't here at all and she was with Finnick. At least he knows how to bring her back because I don't have the first clue.

I know I have to try something though, so I start with just calling her name, softly at first but then louder as I quietly and slowly get closer to her. It doesn't seem to work though, and she doesn't even react when I sit on the cot next to her, studying her. Her eyes still have that far away look in them and I wonder if this is how I looked when I sort of…went away like my mother did when my father died a few months ago after what happened at our house in Victor's Village, that awful video Snow showed me. Seeing it again makes me feel even guiltier I became that but then I realize how they got me out of it. Johanna made me mad.

I don't really know how to make Annie mad, but I can think of one possible thing I can do. She's being so protective of her baby in her stomach right now, just like I was at that horrible meeting with Snow when I was pregnant with Kennie and he confirmed that she would be a tribute in the Games. If he had so much as touched me when I was trying to protect her I don't really know what I would have done. So even though it might be a horrible idea and I might possibly get hurt even if this is just Annie, I decide to do the stupid thing; I pretend to try to grab her hands which are protecting her stomach.

She reacts immediately, pushing me off the cot and making me lose my balance. I fall the three feet to the ground and land on my side with an oomph, but she doesn't attack me further.

"Katniss?" she asks quietly and somehow in shock. I roll over onto my back and it hurts but not too bad. Looking up, I find Annie looking down at me with a surprised expression, clearly confused.

"Sorry, I…well I didn't know how else to get you back." I explain. "I'm not…" Thank god I stopped myself from saying his name, because that very well may have sent her right back into that gone state of mind. "I'm alright." I decide to finish, and she nods in response. She doesn't say anything at all and I wait patiently for her to say something. I know with Annie things can't really be rushed.

"Did you need something?" she asks quietly after a few minutes of silence.

"Not really. I was just coming to see how you were doing." I reply honestly. At least that is the truth and I don't see any harm in telling her that.

"Oh I'm just perfect." She gives me a small smile but I blink in surpise. Did Annie Cresta just make a joke?

"I've never heard you joke before." I comment and she shrugs.

"What else is there to do?" she questions me and it's my turn to shrug. I guess she has a point, it's just…well, I've never seen her be so…normal before. Nor did I ever expect it. But I can't tell her that.

"Complain about it." I suggest and she laughs lightly, unconsciously placing her hands back over her stomach. She isn't really showing yet but it's still the instinct of the thing. I'm guessing that the only reason Coin's going to get away with sending a pregnant girl into battle is because no one can tell yet; the country would probably be in an uproar otherwise.

"Well there's plenty to complain about but I'm not one to complain." Annie tells me and I quirk an eyebrow. It's so different having a real conversation with her. Is this how she is with Finnick when they're alone? Am I just now seeing the real Annie Cresta, the girl before she went crazy because of the Games?

"No, you never seemed like someone who would." I reply.

"You have plenty to complain about though if you want to." She exclaims and I shrug. "Not that it hasn't gotten better with Gale since you are getting along now."

My head snaps up at that and I find Annie looking at me knowingly. "How did you know?" I ask in almost shock. I thought we'd been good about not showing everyone else how we really are. Everyone else seems to believe Gale and I still don't get along. Did Finnick tell her?

A tiny smile plays on her lips and she almost…giggles. "I know more than most people believe, Finn included. I'm far more observant than people realize."

Interesting. I never would have thought of that before coming from her, but I guess in a way it makes sense. I still don't possibly know how she picked up on it though. I'm about to ask when something that sounds like a cannon goes off followed by screams.

"What was that?" I ask aloud, and I get this dreaded feeling inside me even though I know it's stupid. We're not in an arena, it's not a cannon for death. I repeat that to myself until I half believe it. I glance to Annie and find that she's completely gone again, placing her hands on her ears and the faraway look is back.

Oh great, some things never change. The Hunger Games still rule our lives even when we're long out of an arena. A price every Victor has to pay, crazy or no.

Because while you do leave the arena, the arena never leaves you.


	25. Panic

Gale's POV

"What was that?" I question the group, freezing instantly at the cannon. Because it can't possibly be what I automatically think it is. That sound that I've cringed at and despised in my nightmares as well as in the real world, in not one but two arenas. Attempting to keep my panic internal, I wait for an answer. Carper seems to feel exactly like me as he says nothing but Boggs looks around oblivious to our panic, trying to actually figure it out.

Glad someone is. Carper and I just stare into space before glancing towards each other, a knowing yet unbelieving sheen to our eyes. No, we aren't in an arena. Just because it was a cannon and screams doesn't mean…

"Why was there a cannon?" Katniss's voice questions, her panting as I guess she ran to us from wherever she was. She must think like we do, the cannon being far too similar to the arena. She did say that she was a Victor too, right? Or at least I think she did. I don't know, even my memories after the Capitol are becoming fuzzier. Annoying as hell.

"Seems like the Capitol is attacking one of the other villages to overthrow it." Boggs informs us and all three of us look at him incredulously.

"They're using cannons?" Carper asks, visibly cringing. Naturally they would want to make us feel like this even if we aren't in an arena. Will they ever stop with their vicious mind games?

Honestly I don't know why I bother thinking things like that. Of course they won't; they never will.

"Seems like it." Boggs frowns, but I don't think he fully understands what us Victors feel about that. Not that I'm surprised though, what with him growing up in District 13. "Let's round up the rest of the squad…oh." He begins to order, but then realizes after turning around that basically everyone is here.

"What are our orders sir?" one of the District 13 soldiers questions him.

"Gather weapons and we'll move out. And someone get Soldier Cresta." Boggs demands. Most of us nod but Katniss speaks up.

"Annie is…not well." Katniss informs him and Boggs raises an eyebrow but doesn't seem surprised at her statement. Honestly I don't think he believes Annie belongs here either, but he could get in a lot of trouble if Annie isn't on those stupid cameras.

"As in…" he questions her.

"As in she is currently not right in her mind because of that stupid cannon! I was right there with her and she was actual acting normal and then…" Katniss protests and Boggs sighs, clearly wishing to do what he wants no matter what his duty is.

"I don't care, she…oh screw it, we'll leave her. She doesn't belong here anyway." Boggs decides in the end. I quirk an eyebrow at his decision which is clearly going to cause him trouble but can see why he doesn't care too much about that. His judgment is a good one regardless.

Everyone else nods and gets to work at gathering up and preparing quickly for whatever it is we'll be doing. As I pack up my bag and grab my militarized bow I can only think how this is far too similar to an arena though it's not really at all.

I guess some things just never leave you no matter if your mind's been tampered with or not.

Haymitch's POV

"Why did you let them leave with her?" Fish boy grumbles, clearly the only thing the kid can think of is his girl. But blaming me ain't gonna get im anywhere; I couldn't do anything about it more than he could and he knows it.

"If ya gonna blame someone ya should at least do it ta someone who is really responsible for it Fish boy." I argue back. He rolls his eyes at me but it doesn't seem to make him feel any better.

"What about your responsibility?" he counters and I give him a glare.

"Ya know squirt's in school. I can't do nothin about that." I reply, but he smirks at me.

"School ended half an hour ago."

"What? No it didn't, it's-" I protest but then Fish boy pushes his watch in my face and unfortunately I have to admit he's right. Damn. "Fuck."

With another smirk he crosses his arms, clearly deciding that despite his worry for his girl he likes being right for once. "Harder than ya thought to have a kid, isn't it?"

"Like you could do better." I mutter. Well damn, now I have to figure out where squirt is and if she's with someone we can't trust how to get her away.

"If you hadn't noticed, I have a kid on the way and I could definitely do better." Fish boy replies, far cheekier than I'd like him to be.

"Then why didn't ya tell me she was out already then?" I argue back. If I forgot then he did too. He knows how important it is that squirt is safe and I'm not about to let him think he's so much better than me.

"I was waiting for you to notice." He counters, but I can tell he's a little embarrassed. Oh so Fish boy's allowed to tell me I'm a bad caretaker but he actually forgot too? Now who's the worst person?

"Don't lie to me Fish boy." I point at him and he shrugs. "But if ya think yer so much better then you take er."

"I can't, you know that." He sighs and I roll my eyes. If only he wasn't such a damn fool. Should've just let the fucking trial go on and kept those secrets to himself. The result would have probably been the same as it is now anyway. Every move being watched closely and Coin not trusting him with anything. And I know that if squirt stayed with him everyone would get suspicious because everyone knows he's in trouble for something, but it doesn't make it less annoying.

"Yeah I know." I agree much to his surprise. What, can't admit I'm wrong sometimes? I never said I was perfect. I subconsciously let out a groan before speaking again. "Any guess as to where squirt is now?"

"I'd check the hospital and the other Hawthornes' room first. After that it's anyone's guess." Fish boy replies. Oh goodie, none of those options are ones I would like to deal with. If she's with er family then I have to come up with some excuse as to why I need her with me and who the hell knows what I could come up with. And if she's not in those places…well guess I'd better get a squad together. Stubborn little sneaky girl could be anywhere in this damn district, though I'd prefer if it we're with that woman or in Command. So…I guess I hope she's with the family.

This is what I get for being old. I let both squirt's parents go off to fight while I have to stay back here and watch the kid that all these terrible asses want and we still don't really know why. And they don't even give me any reasons why I need to watch er either. Not the best plan but there really isn't one.

After groaning again at the ridiculously fucked up situation I wave off Fish boy before going around trying to find squirt. Hoping ta find er with Beetee just because that would be the best I search there first since it's the nearest to where I was but she ain't there. Of course, I don't know why I bothered.

"Hello Haymitch." Beetee greets me with a tired, worn out smile. He must be tired for all the work he's doin for the army that was sent to District 1. If it was me I'd be groaning all over the place but not him. Stupid guy's older than me and he's a better person. I should feel worse about that than I do.

"Beetee." I nod to greet him, and then get an idea. "Do ya…er well, do ya think ya could go through the cameras to find somethin for me?"

"Of course." He nods, booting up the system without looking back, "What did you need to find?"

"Makenna." I say in a low voice, trying not to sound guilty. I'm sure there were better ways to do this but this has to be the fastest. Not the best but I don't really give a shit.

He freezes and looks up to me in an almost panic. "You lost her? Is she with Coin? Is she-"

"I'm sure she's fine." I try to calm him down, struggling to keep back an eyeroll. Yeesh, does everyone have to fucking jump to conclusions? "I forgot ta pick er up from school so I don't know where she is but I'm sure she's with er family or something."

"Haymitch." Beetee sighs, shaking his head. "If you were going to take responsibility for her then you should at least know her schedule. Or Albert could have brought her down here. Anything but let a seven year old girl walk around a district by herself!"

"I know I know." I protest. Geez, doesn't he think I know that? Especially this seven year old of all of little kids.

This is why I would have made a horrible parent.

"Can ya just find her?" I ask again, wanting to get out of here. Anywhere where people aren't going to make me feel bad for being a horrible caretaker.

He sighs again but quickly looks around. "It looks like she's with her aunt in the hospital. They're in…room 2634."

"Alright." I nod, walking my way up towards that room.

The entire way there I try to think of something, anything at all that I can say to er to get squirt with me. We don't know about all the Hawthornes but we do know fer sure that she is being manipulated fer whatever reason Coin could possibly have to. I know rumors are goin around in the Capitol, most being entirely untrue but having some root in the truth like most rumors do. Maybe it has something to do with that. What are they gonna say next, that the kid knew she was preggo and decided to leave er once and fer all once she lost the baby? Is the point to make him out to being a total ass and having people hate him? The only possible way I can think of connecting that and fer whatever reason Snow wants squirt is that he wants the kid out of the way, for people to hate him so he has a reason to take squirt in. Still don't know how sweetheart fits into that but I'm workin on it. I never claimed to know everythin.

Exibit A: I can't even take care of squirt correctly apparently.

Once in the room squirt looks up to me and smiles. "Hi!"

"Hey squirt. Wanna come see yer friend Albert?" I ask her, the only reason I could think of as to why I'm taking her away from her aunt.

"Yeah!" she exclaims but her aunt frowns.

"Kennie you can't. I was going to show you how to braid your hair like your mommy does, remember?" she claims.

"Eh ya can do it later." I claim, putting a hand on squirts shoulder as she stands up. She looks at me suspiciously and I groan internally. This is why I need to be more careful. But instead of explaining any further I simply usher squirt out and groan, knowing that could have gone a lot smoother.

Oh well, I guess she probably thinks I'm strange anyway. Deception, right?

Gale's POV

"To the right!" I yell to Carper, the battle that is ensuing at the moment one where it's vital for us all to work together. I'm certain that being the 'star squad' we weren't really supposed to be actually fighting at all, but Boggs has apparently decided that he doesn't give a shit what Coin wants him to do at all. It can't be good for him but I certainly like him better. Carper shoots one more time before moving left and I sigh.

"You're other right, Carper!" I scream again over the gunfire and he glares at me.

"You try shooting and moving in a wheelchair at the same time!" he shouts back in defense and I hold back a roll of my eyes. He's got a point I guess but it doesn't make what we're doing any less urgent.

In the week and a half we've been in District 1 we've actually made a lot of progress. After that original attack on the village next to ours that first night we arrived I've actually been feeling like I'm on a real squad, not some stupid propo team. Sure that has a lot to do with Boggs not exactly following orders (I vaguely wonder if he's already gotten crap for that), but because of the fact that apparently our camera man isn't afraid to go right into battle either, following us with his giant camera equipment attached to him almost like armor and a gun in his free hand.

I idly wondered why he was so willing until I realized at the dinner table he didn't talk. Originally I just assumed he was shy but then by the way he swallowed I realized that he was an avox, named Pollux. Apparently (according to his twin who isn't an avox, also a cameraman) he worked in the Capitol actually beneath the Capitol for five years before they could buy his way above ground. And seeing as if above the Capitol is actually better and I know what that's like, I no longer have to wonder why an avox would very willingly fight back against them. I would too.

In general though, I think our star squad has proved our worth. We've been to all but one fight here in the district and we've won all but two. After I had a meeting with them (more like a yelling fest to get sense through their heads back in District 13) to make them realize that going on the offense would be quicker and have far less casualties here in the villages, we've been doing just that and actually succeeding. Sure we've had a few injuries, but nothing fatal and nothing that would stop any of us from ceasing to fight. I've gotten a bullet that grazed my shoulder but other than that just a few bruises and scratches. Definitely not enough to make me of all people stop fighting. Katniss, the fighter she is, I'm fairly certain has broken something in her foot unless she just sprained it by the way she limps around and can't run as fast, but she's still going and never complains. The lack of complaints I'm guessing is more because she's afraid the medic will take her out of a fight more than the fact it doesn't hurt, but since I'd do the same I don't rat her out. Maybe she was right in the two of us knowing each other better than ourselves. I still have no memory of her before the hospital in District 13 and somehow I can still tell what she's doing and most likely why a lot of the time.

Lucy and Carper have both received minor injuries that wouldn't take them out of a fight at all, and Annie has never received one because none of us have allowed her to leave the campsite. She may have to stay here but we'll be damned if we're going to let a pregnant mad girl be a real soldier. I'm certain that Coin is pissed about that but we've made sure that she's at least in some of the propos that we do at the actual camp so maybe she hasn't caught on yet. I highly doubt it but you never know.

"Gale, watch out!" Lucy screams and I look back just in time to find a bomb coming way too close to me. Shit.

I try to run but I don't get very far before it explodes into the building that is far too close to me. The last thing I remember as I fall is that something hit my head and it really fucking hurts.

Katniss's POV

"Gale!" I scream in a panic, leaving where I went to avoid the most recent bomb. I don't care if the fight is still going on, I don't care if we still have to pretend that we aren't getting along. It doesn't mean I still don't love him and I want to make sure he's not…no, I can't lose anyone else. It was bad enough to lose all those Victors, I'm not about to lose him too. I don't know if I could handle that.

Dropping to his side and rolling him over gently, I hold my breath as I check his wrist for a pulse and place a hand right under his nose. He's got a pulse so I know he's still alive which calms me a lot, but his breathing is pretty shallow. Examining his injuries, I find that he hit his head pretty bad not only on the wall but something I think hit him too, probably some debris from the explosion. The welts aren't visible but when I comb my hand through his hair I can feel them, the large lumps. As long as he's alive it will be alright, I tell myself. After all, it can't be worse than him not remembering me right? I'm not a medic by far but I think that's the normal thing that happens with concussions. At least not remembering me won't be any different than it has been for these months.

"Is he alright?" a medic I don't know questions me, one from District 1 by their tattered blue coat instead of the pristine white of District 13's. I glance up at her and decide that no matter how much I want to help him, she's going to be better at it than me. Besides, if we have to move him then I can't really get him anywhere far by myself.

"I…don't know." I half whisper, just loud enough for her to hear. I can hear my voice cracking and hope she doesn't hear the weakness in it.

If she does then she doesn't comment, and she quickly checks him over before asking me to help her get him into the nearest building. It takes a while but eventually we slump him on the floor and she begins checking him more thoroughly. Somewhere in the middle of this he groans and rubs his head, not opening his eyes.

"Catnip?"


	26. Relief

Katniss's POV

Catnip? He hasn't called me that since…since he came back to District 13. Could he…no, don't get your hopes up for nothing. He knows that he calls you Catnip and maybe that's just what this is. He hit his head pretty hard and that can't be a good thing. A concussion is still a concussion whether mindsquito venom is involved at all. But…I have to at least try to see if he's back. Maybe it will just hurt me more but I have to try.

"Gale?" I almost half whisper, and the hope that seeps into my voice almost annoys me. Dang it Katniss, you're supposed to be on your guard!

Slowly opening his eyes, he looks disoriented at first but when they find me he almost smiles before he groans at the pain.

"God, I haven't felt this bad since that time I stupidly fell from that tree trying to catch you. As if I could climb as high. Got what I deserved though twisting my ankle and having back pains for a week." He mutters.

"Yeah, that was stupid. Glad you're finally admitting it." I smile. Always the competitior, trying to do something he knows he can't but does it anyway. Back then he just claimed he was fine even though I knew he wasn't when my mother tried to give him medicine. And he just claimed that he was helping Kennie learn her medicine when she liked wrapping his twisted ankle with new bindings every few days. Wait…how does he remember that? That happened in the woods a few years ago.

"Well you know, I-" he begins to go on, but I can't take it anymore and cut him off with a kiss. I don't even care that the medic is still here, that we should be hiding our getting along instead of fighting, anything at all but I need to know if I actually got a miracle. Is Gale really back?

He humors me for a few seconds, his lips moving with mine and sending a deep fire coursing through my veins before pulling away, but not very far. He smiles and shakes his head as he brushes some stray hair behind my ear before speaking again.

"I'm going to be fine Catnip. No reason to act like I'm dying." He chuckles in a low voice and I blush subconsciously because I probably did come off pretty desperate. But he doesn't know the half of it.

"You remember me?" I ask as a hopeful whisper and his brow furrows in confusion.

"Remember you? Just because I have a concussion doesn't mean I don't know who you are." He replies and I shake my head. I have to test this. Just because he knows one memory doesn't mean they're all back.

"Where are you from? Who do you live with? What place-"

"Whoa! Geez what's with all the questions?" Gale cuts me off, but I'm not giving up. I have to know.

"Please." I almost beg. "Just answer them."

"Alright." Gale sighs as he shakes his head with a smile playing softly on his lips. He thinks he's just going to humor me because I'm freaking out but he doesn't know the half of it. "I'm from District 12 and I live in Victor's Village with you and our seven year old daughter Kennie. Did I get it right?"

"Don't act like that Gale." I hit him lightly on the shoulder, but relief washes over me and consumes me. He's back. He's really back. Taking his hand I sigh in relief and his hand eventually comes to my cheek, caressing it before tilting my face to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he questions me, knowing something's up. Does he really not remember? Is this the mindsquito venom kicking in and once it's gone he doesn't remember what he forgot in the first place? Honestly, I don't know how he's back in the first place but I don't even care. But he needs to know what happened to him, what he did to us. It will hurt him that he hurt us but he needs to know.

"In the Capitol. Do you…remember what they did to you?" I eventually choke out in a half whisper.

He makes a twisted pained face, but studies me before answering. "You really want to know?"

I shake my head because I actually would rather not know, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember what I'm trying to get him to tell me. "Do you remember your last few days there? What they did?"

With a hard look he searches for any kind of possible distress or reason I'm asking but decided to tell me anyway. "Not much. They hit my head a lot and gave me something. I don't really know what it was but I can't remember a lot of it."

Yeah, you could say that's when the forgetfulness started. "That liquid they injected you with? It was mindsquito venom." I inform him and he stares at me before frowning.

"But…how do you know that? And if I had that in me then I would have forgotten something right?" he questions me and I nod solemnly.

"Yeah, you did." I breath out.

He hesitates, but obviously feels like he needs to know. "What did I forget?" I stare at him and I'm going to tell him, but I can't make myself say the words. He's going to feel so guilty and I'm not entirely certain I could keep just how much anger or hurt I felt all that time out of my voice. It's not exactly the first real conversation I wanted to have with him after he came back if at all. I bite my lip and look away, not able to face him somehow.

"Katniss." He half whispers, pushing a stray hair back on my face and placing his warm hand on my cheek and waits for me to look at him. When I finally do his eyes are boring into me, waiting for an answer. I think by the guilt already hinting to break through in his expression he can almost guess but he waits for me to confirm it. So I finally do.

"Me and Kennie."

Surprise, guilt, and amazingly almost understanding wash over his expression as I just sit there and watch it. He probably guessed from my reaction that he forgot me but not both me and Kennie. It seems like quite a feat for the Capitol to make you forget the two people that are most important to you in this world. Honestly, I still don't know entirely how they did it. You would have thought that since they didn't have footage of at least Gale and I for years it wouldn't work as well but I guess that's the nature of mindsquito venom. It doesn't matter what it is or who you are to that.

"How…did it last for so long?" he chokes out finally, closing his eyes as if he doesn't want to look at me from the guilt. The answer I have may surprise him though.

"Since you came back a few months ago." I tell him and his eyes shoot open, looking at me in confusion. He obviously didn't see that one coming.

"But…it doesn't work like that. No matter how much they put in me it wouldn't have lasted that long." He protests even though he knows it's futile. A war within himself I'd guess. It makes me wonder what exactly he remembers from his time in District 13 but that's a different conversation.

"The concussions…they…made it more permanent. Even when they got all the venom out of you it still stuck." I inform him and he groans.

"I'm so sorry." He breaths and I take his hand in mine. I know how sorry he is, but it didn't make it hurt any less. And he knows it.

"I know." I reply quietly, and it's at this moment that someone decides to burst in. Apparently the medic that was helping him left at some point because she's no longer here.

"What are you doing? What-" Boggs begins, but takes in the scene in front of him as well as Carper and Lucy. I have a feeling the latter two get it before Boggs does because their eyes go bug eyed.

"He got hurt." I explain quietly, but I can't hide the linked hands or Gale's alert, guilty face. And they all seem to know it.

"You remember her son?" Boggs nods towards me while looking at Gale. Gale and I exchange glances. We really shouldn't trust him because for one he's not really on our trust list but two he's so close to Coin that I wouldn't doubt if he told her everything. But he's broken so many rules and tried to do what's right here in District 1 the whole time. And I can sense it; he's truly trying to do the right thing because he wants to. Maybe he's changing sides after all.

"Yes. I don't know how but I got hit on the head out there and I remember again. My daughter too. I didn't even know I forgot them until Katniss just told me." Gale finally ends up announcing, clearly deciding that Boggs can be trusted. We already knew we could trust the other two.

"Well it's about damn time." Carper grins from his wheelchair, his gun lightly lying on his lap. "You're fighting was getting on everyone's nerves."

"Fighting?" Gale questions, automatically looking towards me.

"Well, you are stubborn." I answer with, a light smile playing on my lips. While it was frustrating at first, the pretend fights were the more exhausting. I felt horrible bickering with him when I really didn't have a reason to.

"I know it's horrible to ask but…" Boggs interrupts, and we both glance up to him. By his expression he seems to be fighting something inside of himself. "Would you be opposed to pretending that Gale didn't remember still?"

"Why?" Gale questions, confused. It's not entirely different from what we've been doing for a while but no one aside from Finnick and Beetee know that. Not even Gale remembers I guess.

"Because I'm done with Coin's shit and I want to help you." Boggs replies and I stare at him. What?

"Why would you want to help us?" I ask at the same time Gale asks "What's she up to?"

"I want to help you because I want to make it up to you. I didn't know you before, thought you were just some wonderful little couple with a cute daughter that didn't deserve to call the shots on anything. I just knew that we needed you for the spark of the rebellion." He admits, but before anyone can say anything he goes on. "But you're not. You've had so much harm and hurt happen to you because of the Capitol and I know that you have plenty of reasons to hate them. And I'm sorry for going against you before. I've realized mostly on this mission that Coin is not right. I always knew she wasn't who she claims to be but I draw the line at sending a pregnant mad girl into battle who isn't a soldier at all."

"What's her plan?" Gale questions again, seemingly taking everything in stride. I knew that Boggs was basically Coin's right hand man but I didn't realize how much he sincerely despises her now. It's an interesting twist in events for sure.

"I don't know everything because she doesn't give me motives or specifics, but I can tell you some things. She's been manipulating your families, Plutarch, and most of the Capitolites in District 13 right now. Mostly to give information on you two and create some…scenes I guess you could call them." Boggs explains, a twist in his face with a grimace.

"Scenes?" I ask. What does that even mean?

"You weren't wrong in thinking that Vibia was the girl named Leta. You two actually did meet her in her form as Leta because Coin wanted that. She changed the girl to Vibia and erased her memory of being Leta to trick you." He informs us and I give him a baffled look. I had already basically figured that out but I couldn't figure out why.

"Why? What's the point?" I question him and he sighs before grimacing.

"Because…she's working with Snow. He wants you two separated and they're creating rumors from everything and spreading them in the Capitol." Boggs reveals and I stare at him, trying to process what he's saying. I already know they're brother and sister but I thought it was a sibling rivalry thing if anything between them. Why would they be working together if they're making a war? Just to separate us? It doesn't make any sense at all.

"Does this have anything to do with Snow wanting Makenna?" Carper asks, and I freeze. Because he's probably right.

"Snow wants her? What the hell?" Gale almost yells, clearly not remembering hearing this for the first time.

"Look, I don't know why but yes, I think so." Boggs claims, his hands in the air almost in surrender. "But I do know whatever it is that little girl doesn't deserve any of it. If they can do all that shit to that poor girl who is so important in the Capitol I don't want to know what they'll do to her."

"Who's important?" Carper asks.

"The girl we think is Vibia. I don't know who she really is but I think she's whoever she was when we rescued her in the Capitol. Coin never told me who she was but she knew. She knew the girl was important somehow." Boggs exclaims.

"How can we find out who she really is?" Carper questions him and he shrugs before answering.

"The only thing I can think of is somehow getting a hold of her before anyone else does when she comes to herself again. It happens occasionally and Coin always changes her back quickly, usually making sure one of the people she manipulates or her catches on to it right away. But you can tell, the girl's eyes change. They become clearer and she seems more aware, so you can look for it when we get back." Boggs offers and I nod.

"But that doesn't really explain why we need to keep fighting." I protest. I just did it when Finnick asked because I trust Finnick, but Boggs seems willing to give answers.

"I know it sucks, but if we can trick all of them into thinking you're still not fine then we can strike back when we need to most. Coin's not going to wait much longer to put whatever it is that their plan is in action once we get this district back, I know she won't." Boggs explains. It's basically the same thing Finnick told me. Gosh, why doesn't anyone else have good information.

"It would probably be a good thing to get Makenna out of there though." Lucy puts in and we all look at her. "Just because you're fighting doesn't make her in any less danger. And you're going to have less and less people to trust as this goes on. You can't be sure that Coin isn't manipulating other people right now." She points out.

"You have a point." Boggs concedes with a frown. "What do you suggest?"

"Take her off the grid and tell no one." Lucy suggests.

"But she's only seven and we'd need her with someone we trust. And obviously you're suggesting that it can't be me or Katniss, and apparently our families are not an option either." Gale protests, clearly not liking the idea of Kennie being taken away any more than I do. But we need her to be safe at all costs and as much as it would kill me they do have a point. She'll be pretty safe if they can't find her.

"I know it sucks." Lucy nods, clearly knowing how we're feeling. "But maybe she could stay with Johanna? She's been fine and everyone thinks she's dead."

"Why am I not surprised?" I mutter. Johanna Mason would just not drop dead. I don't know why I didn't think of that before.

"She's not?" Boggs questions, clearly thinking this is news. Well, I guess that was the point. If Boggs didn't know then I doubt Coin does.

"Nope. Led her off myself before I came to 13." Lucy smiles almost smugly. Clearly she feels the same about Boggs as I do. We'll trust you I guess but it's nice to know we can trick you when we want to.

"Are you alright with that?" Boggs turns to Gale and I, his professionalism overcoming his surprise. We look at each other and communicate without speaking, and I can tell we feel the same. We aren't going to like it but we'll do it. For Kennie.

"Yes. But I want to at least see her before that happens." Gale answers and my face turns to one of sympathy at that last part. I know how guilty he feels. Heck, he probably realizes how hard it was for her too though he doesn't know specifics. He'll want to make it up to her before she has to go away for her own safety though I'll worry about her all the time. At least I trust Johanna with her though; it's better than nothing.

"Of course. It will have to be at least a week after we return anyway." Boggs replies and Gale nods in response. We hear a few gunshots and cheers and we all look towards the door.

"Well I guess this battle is over." Carper comments.

"Let's go back to camp." Boggs orders and we all get moving, Gale leaning on Boggs and me even though he doesn't want to. Having two concussions can't be good for him regardless and I'd guess even though he'd never say it he's dizzy which is why he doesn't protest too much at the help.

Once at the camp I sigh because I know we'll have to separate even though I don't want to. I just got him back. But Boggs surprises me by looking around once we get to Gale's tent and pushes us both inside.

"Make sure no one's looking when you leave in the morning." Boggs whispers to me with a knowing smile. Despite my embarrassment even though that's stupid relief washes over me and I know that Boggs really is trying to help us.

"Thank you." I whisper to him before going into our tent, once again everything right with us.

It's about time.


	27. Interrogate

Gale's POV

"Good work squad 483. Orders are to pack up and we will move out 0700 hours tomorrow." Boggs finalizes our squad meeting with a smile, clearly just as glad as we are that the fighting is over here in District 1. It's been four days since I 'came to' or whatever you want to call it. My head is still killing me but I can't find it in me to care too much because I feel like I have to make it up to people, specifically Katniss. I can't believe I forgot her and Kennie. The guilt is still washing over me most of the time from that and it makes me hate the Capitol just a little bit more.

I could tell that Katniss had a really hard time with it even if she wouldn't outright say so. And since I can't remember not remembering her or Kennie due to the mindsquito venom I'd guess it makes it worse. I've tried to think how I would have acted if someone who I didn't know told me I was their husband or father and guiltily it's not pretty. I probably thought they were crazy.

She only told me what I didn't remember after begging her, knowing I was already feeling bad about it and it was only going to get worse. I did think they were crazy, everyone actually. With a shy smile she claimed that more than just here yelled at me about it, including Madge Undersee (I mean Mellark) of all people. It's funny, because I can recall being in District 13 after I was rescued and seeing everyone again, but not Katniss or Kennie. It's like…well I guess it's like those memories were erased or changed somehow in my mind. As she tells me about our fights and the secret hallway and everything I honestly can't remember them. But I trust her that they were true, because she wouldn't have that hint of pain in her voice or expression if I wasn't well, an ass. And it kills me that I'm the one that put it there.

I can't really make it right again, but she assures me that me being back to myself is more than enough. More than she hoped for and certainly long before she ever believed it would happen if it did at all. The only thing she had thought of would be once we get to the Capitol during the war (I'm guessing sooner more than later now) she would demand the treatment for it. Unfortunately there was a flaw in that plan, if not because it's not like they would willingly give it up but because they actually might not have one. I had the honor of being the guinea pig for that particular torture apparently so why would they have needed an anecdote even if they could? I'm not sure how I feel about that 'honor' when I know it was only because all their other tortures didn't work, some because of my resistance and some because of that rebel doctor apparently. At least I didn't make it easy for them.

Now the one thing I really want to do is see Kennie again. I'm not sure how I could possibly explain let alone make it up to her how I acted, but Katniss tells me that she took it probably better than she did. As a child she didn't entirely understand what was going on despite all her curiosity, mostly just that I didn't remember her and I wasn't myself. Children forgive far easier than Katniss or I do, and apparently she pretty much already had in the time before we left for District 1 when I played with her with no cameras on thanks to Beetee. It doesn't make it right, but I have to try something.

But first we have to get out of this damn district. I haven't been to District 1 since Nelia's Victory Tour and I've never really liked it. Fighting here for two weeks hasn't changed that assessment at all so I have no trouble leaving. The only thing that annoys me (well…the most prominent thing) is that Katniss and I still have to act like we're fighting just so we have the upper hand. She tells me that there are ways around it, like with the people we actually can trust (mostly just Victors apparently) but it still sucks. Another thing is how the fuck are we going to get Kennie out of there with a reasonable explanation. It's not like people won't notice she's missing, she's the freaking symbol of the rebellion. My mouth honestly dropped open in shock when I heard that Katniss of all people agreed to it, but she assures me that it was only so she could get her way with things and she really didn't do much of anything. I don't know if I believe that but I don't really care; I would have done the same thing without much bribing but that's just me.

Even though we'll have to pretend again, we don't have to start until tomorrow. Luckily there are enough people in our squad to cover us as long as we don't do anything in front of anyone from District 13 aside from Boggs, so it's not too bad. While Lucy is not a Victor she might as well be for all she's done, and she's been around our world her whole life. I'd imagine since she trained far longer than Kennie ever did just to not go into the Hunger Games, having to hid all of her knowledge and rebel secrets that she knew of once she was old enough, she knows enough. Besides, I'm sure Cecilia had nightmares or did something to cope with them even though she never mentioned anything to me. It's the more obvious things like Haymitch or Chaff drinking it away or most of the District 6 Victors aside from Duncan using morphling. Johanna being well…a bitch to everyone and taking out all her anger on fighting skills or defense. Surely Lucy knows more than most and that's why I count her as part of us.

Evident to the fact that she's the one with a wink that covers us now, capturing everyone else's attention with some ridiculously entertaining story about her training in the woods of District 8 with Paylor and having to hide in a wolf den only to find the wolves were actually there. Once the squad is not paying attention to us at all we quietly slip to the back of the room before slipping out the door to our tent for the night.

Though we've turned in for the night, neither of us are really tired and after making love for the umpteenth time in the last few days (we have to make up for lost time you know) we're quiet for a while, and I'm just holding her to me and stroking her back while her head lays on my chest, her hand possessively over my heart. I close my eyes and relax, knowing that this is the way it's supposed to be and for once savoring the feeling in the knowledge that it's been a long time since I even could.

"Why do you think he wants her?" Katniss questions out loud in a low, curious voice. I'm shocked to find that there's a lot more curiosity than worry in her tone, but maybe the bafflement is winning out at the moment. I know she wouldn't ask if she wasn't worried.

I sigh heavily before answering. "I don't know. It's Snow, it could be anything." Well, we do know one thing for certain; it can't be good. Not if Snow's the mastermind behind it, not if Kennie is something he wants. Especially if Coin of all people is helping him get it. I almost shudder at the fact, reminding myself that they are actually siblings. I get sibling rivalry, that would only make sense since there's a war between them quite literally. But working together under the pretense that they're at war? There has to be some sort of ulterior motive on one or both of their parts. Probably both if I'm being honest. But if we can't figure out what their plan is then we're not going to get anywhere on deciphering their motives behind it.

"Do…do you think it's because she's the Phoenix? That it's because I actually allowed it?" she half panics, the worry and guilt clear in her voice now. But she has to know this probably has nothing to do with her, right?

"Katniss." I breath, placing my hand on her chin and tilting her face up just enough to look at me. "This has nothing to do with that."

"You don't know that." She glares, lifting herself up and over enough so that she's looking at me fully, half of her upper body on my chest.

"Do you really think that he didn't have this plan long before you let them do propos?" I ask her, trying to get her to see logic. She hesitates to answer and I know it's sinking in, far faster than I thought it would. When she doesn't reply I answer my own question. "No, he would have had this planned a long time ago. Maybe since he read the card for the past Games or even before that." I predict. Snow was never one to go into something without a plan. And if he and Coin are really on the same side I wouldn't doubt if he actually allowed the breakout to happen. Maybe that was part of his plan all along. You never know; he's a bastard, but he's always a bastard with a fucking plan.

"Do you really think he knew about the breakout?" she asks me, almost reading my mind. It still scares me sometimes how similar our minds are. You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

"Maybe." I concede.

"Or if he didn't…then what if whatever his plan was with Kennie he was going to do anyway." she wonders aloud, but I don't entirely see where she's going with this one.

"What, like you think he knew exactly what my intentions were and was going to let me go through with it? Make sure she was the Victor?" I guess and she nods.

"Yeah. If he had this plan before the breakout and didn't know about that, he could have always just adjusted it. You never know." She replies, and I think she could be right. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for him to allow the breakout had he known, because if he had wanted Kennie then it would have been far easier to just kill the lot of us aside from Kennie long before that happened. It's the Hunger Games, anything can happen and most people wouldn't question it too thoroughly. Besides, it's got to be a mess trying to get her when she's thousands of miles away and the rebellion happened, taking all the districts under control. No, it wouldn't make sense for him to have known of the breakout. So she's probably right, he already had whatever this plan was and just had to deal with those complications now.

"But why would he have wanted her to win? It wouldn't have really proved a point and it wouldn't have been the punishment he wanted." She argues and I have to think about that. She's right; though I would have been dead and Katniss would have been a widow, the real punishment would have been to assure that neither of us made it back. We would be dead and Katniss would lose everything, assuring Snow that all three of us were punished. But maybe that was the problem in itself…

"Because we were too popular." I guess aloud and she quirks an eyebrow. "Think about it, it's one thing to take me away but Kennie? She's only seven years old and the Capitol adores her. They would probably rebel on their own if she died in that arena." I hate talking about this, not only my own very near death in that arena but the possibility of Kennie as well. No, I did think she died, when she was in the clutches of that hovercraft. And I know it's because I'm her father that I was horribly devastated and lost everything I had, but I don't see the Capitol being too happy about that moment either.

"True." Katniss concedes. "But that wouldn't explain why he wants her now."

I huff in frustration, annoyed as she is about not being able to understand. "I don't know. I'm not Snow."

"Thank god for that." She replies with a small smile and kisses me lightly before snuggling back onto my chest as a pillow, knowing we aren't going to suddenly get a burst of inspiration on Snow's motives. If only we could.

Katniss's POV

I figured out how to get into that hidden hallway. There's a button in each hall here, usually under a table or door seam somewhere. Use it the very next time that Vibia comes back to herself before someone else catches on. Finnick told us the day we came back to District 13. Since he wasn't allowed to do basically anything since he was being constantly watched and he had to do something to take his mind off Annie (which he was eternally grateful we never allowed her to do anything at all), he decided that he might as well do something useful. It took him a while, but since he knew from us that it seemed to basically be on every floor and hallway and we didn't go in the same place we came out, he tried the hallway closest to Beetee first, making sure that he was only in the hallways that Beetee turned off the cameras in at random points during the day, usually in the dead of night when everyone aside from the maybe hundred night workers to keep things running were asleep and in their rooms.

Finally after days of looking, about five days ago he found a way in, mostly by accident. He was just gliding his hands along the walls in an attempt to just open them when he trips and hit the seam of a doorframe, to which the wall beside it starts almost vibrating slightly. Curious and hoping against hope, he tentatively placed his hand on it and it went through the wall before he allowed his whole body to. After exploring the hidden hallway and finding the square thing much faster than Gale and I did, he started more thoroughly checking every hidden space in the halls and finding almost all of them on a doorframe or table. After this, he made a little map for us so that we wouldn't have to waste time.

Too bad when Vibia or whoever she is decided to come back to herself again I would be in a hallway not marked. Gale of course wasn't with me when I was next to her but once he looked back at me, feeling my glare on him, I subtly glanced towards the girl next to me and he nodded slightly, going the opposite direction of the next hall so that everyone else could pass before I stopped Vibia and began to idly chat with her before he came back to me once the hallway was cleared. It seemed she was only just coming back to herself since she seemed to answer the questions like Vibia would, but her vision was getting clearer and she seemed to shake her head a lot.

"Where am I?" she whispers finally after shaking her head and I half grin in relief. She doesn't sound a thing like Vibia now, just the barest hint of the Capitol accent heard in her voice.

"The hallway. Be quiet for a minute." I whisper almost inaudibly to her before more loudly talking about whatever it was I was before she came back to herself as Gale looks for the button without trying to look like he is. It takes him a minute, but he whispers 'Got it' and I take the girl's wrist and pull her to where Gale is, the wall barely vibrating. But we don't even look back as we walk on through, and all three of us glide hopefully undetected (I hope Beetee was watching anyway) into the hidden hallway.

"So you found the way in." the girl murmurs once she only glances around, clearly having been here herself before. I'd guess that's the way she just appeared to us when she was pretending to be Leta but she obviously was here as herself as well.

"Eventually." Gale nods and she grins. "Do you mind answering a few questions?" he asks her, but it sounds more like a demand than an actual question. But she doesn't take it as a threat, almost as if she was expecting this at some point.

"Sure. This might answer a few; I'm sorry for whatever I've done against you because it wasn't my will, yes, I've been in here before, and yes, I know Alma and Snow are siblings."

"You know all that?" I ask, impressed. Geez, this girl must really be important if she knows that.

"Of course. Who do you think told Finnick Odair about them being related?" she asks rhetorically, but it only impresses me.

"So you are from the Capitol then." Gale mutters and she gives us a wry smile.

"Unfortunately. I've never liked who I born to be and my father definitely didn't raise me like one." she replies.

"Who's your father?" I ask. I know it's ridiculous but I can't help but find her similar to Cinna. He hated the Capitol and he was definitely important in the Capitol I'd guess you could say. But I think he would have mentioned a daughter to me in all those years.

"Gallus Herod." She answers and I'm drawing a blank. Really, I don't know why I asked. I don't really know that many people in the Capitol but if she was important I thought it might ring a bell.

"Who are you?" Gale asks, the thing that really might give us answers.

"Penny. Penelope Herod." She replies, but I'm still drawing a blank.

"Then…how do you know all that stuff? The siblings thing, the secret hallway? Why were you even in that Capitol prison in the first place?" I ask her. I know this seems like an interrogation but she doesn't seem to be under too much pressure luckily.

"I was in that prison because I pissed off the wrong person. So did my father." She answers.

"Who?" Gale questions her.

"Snow of course." She replies as if it was obvious. "He wasn't too keen on someone so close to him rebelling."

"Close to him?" I wonder aloud. As in…

"Yes, but not by choice. By birth actually." She answers wryly, and for the first time seemingly uncomfortable but studying us, a heavy weight in the room.

"As in…" Gale finally asks after a look between us. She sighs but finally answering, looking us both right in the eyes before answering our heavy question.

"Snow is my grandfather."


	28. Identities

Penny's POV

I do my best to stay strong, look like I'm not fearful of how they are going to react to that little piece of news but it's hard. I'm cringing inside, preparing myself for yet another yelling fest, or terrified eyes, disbelief and not quite knowing what to do with me. Not trusting me. It's been that way with all the rebels that know of my…family tree. Not like I ever asked for it.

Just because I share blood with the bastard doesn't mean that I like it. It doesn't make me inherently evil or bad. I'm not sure about him for certain, but I wasn't born into being a horrible heartless person. Though I'd guess my dear father had something to do with that.

My dead father.

He used to be like any other Capitolite, wanting more, more, more. Somehow my father got lucky enough to get in to a party at the President's Mansion when he was in his late teens, one of the sponsor parties for a Victor. His parents had gone to a fortune teller that was at a party and told them to vote for the very first person that smiled at them in the tribute parade and they would be the Victor. Even when my father was telling me this story I found it ridiculous because everyone knows that fortune tellers aren't right most of the time, they're simply for entertainment. But my grandparents gave it a shot, and it happened to be a tribute from District 5, a sniveling skinny boy who no one thought had a shot. Turns out he did and incredulously won.

So my father got the invitation to go to the sponsor party with his parents and that's where he met my mother. White hair in ringlets (because all Snows are required to no matter what their age) much like my own natural curls (also white), a blue ballgown and a red rose tucked behind her ear. She wasn't seen too often to keep her safe, but she was there that night. My father talked to her and they fell in love, marrying a few years later.

I'd guess the reason my grandfather trusted him was because he actually wasn't a rebel at the time, just some boy lucky enough to win over his daughter's heart. And even when I came a few years later they were still that way. Until my father began to realize the cruelty of Snow. He was just walking through the mansion when I was five years old and had walked past Snow's office door, overhearing a conversation that he shouldn't of. Realizing with horror how Victors are really treated, how the districts are in despair and anger. So unbelieving, he went around looking for answers and found them. And became angry.

Ever since he has helped the rebels, bringing them information that could be helpful and giving all he can for the cause of ending this madness. But he couldn't possibly give up his own position as my mother's husband (no matter how much her health was fading that even the Capitol Doctors couldn't figure it out), nor could he let Snow catch on. But he taught me. He raised me more than my mother and subtly left me becoming a rebel on my own. I could see the horror he could no matter what I learned in school. I observed all the Victors at their parties, their interviews, their ways. Finding that my father was right; the Games damaged you, they didn't help at all. The winners never really won. And why would the Games keep going on? Why would my grandfather force all those things onto people and threaten them if the didn't?

Because he's not a good person I realized at the tender age of eleven, seven years ago. And so I started carefully watching him, looking desperately like the child I was for any indication that he was a good person. And I found none. Nothing. Nothing real anyway. And so I began going to meetings with the rebels with my father, knowing that was who I wanted to be. Helping with what I could, telling them what I learned in school and then finding out the truths.

It worked well until about the 83rd Hunger Games anyway. I didn't know it at the time, but it was my father's idea to have no Victor to trigger the rebellion. He knew after all these years that my grandfather would certainly change the rules in the next Games to have a great show of his own power (whatever that may be) and the rebels could use that to start the rebellion. And it did; but my father was not supposed to have gotten caught. He got caught with a file from my grandfather's office on his way to a meeting with rebels about a week after the 84th Hunger Games ended not because there was a Victor but because of a breakout. He was caught because he was followed.

My grandfather was enraged but only showed it through his beady snake eyes, ending my father's life without a word to my mother and I. He didn't even hide from us the real reason why. Looking back, I think it was to see if we knew. To see if we knew and had been hiding this information from him the whole time, perhaps even helping him ourselves. My mother was a mess, not believing it and grieving the loss of my father. And though I was grieving too, I was angry. He didn't deserve this, it was just another indication that the man in front of me, my own kin and blood was evil.

I thought that I had hidden the anger. That I was a good enough actor to be just like my mother, unbelieving that my father would be that person. Apparently I didn't because not two days later I was arrested by my own grandfather and thrown in prison. He knew and I couldn't hide my distaste for him any longer so I didn't. What did it matter anyway anymore?

A lot actually, but I didn't realize that until recently. He tried to make them change me, make me someone else. The girl he always wanted me to be; a loyal granddaughter that would go with whatever he chose her fate to be, whether it be to take over once he eventually died or to be a charming symbol for all of Panem. To keep me under control. But then my great aunt all the way in District 13 sent a rescue team, took me out of that horror.

But she changed me too. At first I thought she was trying to help me, knowing that my white hair at the age of eighteen was a blatantly obvious sign that I was a Snow. She helped me dye it red, a nice normal color for once. You know, I don't actually know what my true hair color is? It's been dyed white every two weeks for as long as I can remember. But she helped me look almost…normal. I thought she was different at first that she hated him as much as I did. But it turns out she's just as bad. Changing my mind into someone I don't know. No…two someones actually. Once the nice normal girl image did its job (whatever that was for, I'm still not entirely sure why), she made me a normal Capitolite teenager by the looks of my pink hair and nails. Catching me every time I come back to myself I think before anyone can catch on that I'm not who they think I am.

But what she doesn't realize is that it's happening far more than it should now. Maybe my acting has gotten better; maybe I'm just becoming more immune to whatever it is that she injects me with. I don't know but I'm remembering more and more as time goes on and I plan to go against her to. She's no help at all.

But these two people in front of me, they can help. They have every reason to after all, and I know something dark is happening. I don't know exact plans, but my aunt and my grandfather are working together. Or at least on the surface they are. I don't know what my grandfather's actual plans are, but I do know Alma's. And that can only help them to know the truth.

You know, if they actual find it in themselves to trust me.

"What?" the woman, Katniss eventually breaks the silence with. It's actually not as angry as I assumed it would be. The man, Gale, just studies me further, arms crossed and has a distinct thinking look about him. I wonder what he makes of this information.

"Believe me I hate him as much as you do. Maybe even more." I answer, the truth of it hopefully shining in my every desperate attempt to get them to understand that's not who I am, not who I ever wanted to be.

"I doubt that." Gale mutters to himself, and I can see why he would think that. He probably thinks that after everything that was done to him no one could hate Snow more than them. But I can.

"Are you sure?" I question him, but continue before he could even possibly reply. It feels like I have to spit out all my anger and hatred. "My whole life I've watched him manipulate, murder even. People I know, people that are innocent that know too much. Victors like yourselves that have their lives torn apart in his office that I try to help but I have to be so careful as to not be caught. He killed my father, breaking his own daughter's heart and well-being just because he knew what was right. He threw me in prison for going against him!"

"I'm not doubting you hate him." Gale eventually stops me, and honestly that surprises me though I don't know why. My tone and words made it pretty obvious I'd guess.

"But you don't trust me." I reply brutally honest, because it's true.

"It's not you that we don't trust." Katniss eventually says quietly. "It's because your identity changes so much that I don't know how we could." The way she says it tells me that she already knows talking to me here is a risk, but I know that too.

"I get that. But I've been myself more and more lately." I reply, trying to make them understand. "Alma is not a good person. She's working with my grandfather but I have no doubts that they both have ulterior motives for that."

"We know that." Gale nods. I don't know why that surprises me.

"And since my acting skills have obviously improved, I've been able to figure out what her's is." I reveal, and their eyes shoot up. Curiosity and the desperate need to know is clear in both of them and I decide to give it to them. "She's going with his plan just to backfire on it. To take over herself once whatever it is happens."

"Do you know any more specifics than that?" Katniss questions me and I shrug.

"Just bits and pieces. Basically their plan is to marry you off to some girl named Leta to turn the country against you," I reveal, pointing to Gale. He seems generally surprised by that, but also angry. I can see why; I'd be pissed too and I'm sure Katniss is as well.

"Well that's not going to happen. No way in hell." Gale protests, the anger almost spilling out of him. Katniss goes over to him and pulls him into a tight embrace, trying to sooth him but she looks pretty angry too.

Well they're going to be even more pissed when I tell them how exactly they plan to pull that off. "I think that's why he wants your daughter. A blackmail of sorts I'd guess." I reveal, knowing that it's definitely not something I would put past him. I don't tell them now, but I have a feeling he plans on using her for far more than just blackmail but I can't be sure. I can just feel it.

They glance at each other and nod about something, though I have no idea what. They don't really reveal it to me either but they strangely enough don't look as surprised by that as I thought they would. Just more…understanding. "I think Alma plans to somehow fake get her to him, like pretend she was kidnapped but really she just sent her to him."

"But you said that she plans to backfire on Snow. That she'll take over and everything will be alright, right?" Katniss argues and I sigh and shake my head.

"While that's true, I can honestly tell you that my aunt being in charge won't be any better than my grandfather. Maybe even worse." I answer.

"How could it be worse?" Gale mutters and my face twists into a grimace.

"She's…got more plans for arenas. She doesn't plan to end the Hunger Games, she wants to continue them. And the rules I found…well let's just say it makes my grandfather's Hunger Games look like child's play."

"Like what?" Gale questions me, but I can tell by his dark demeanor and tone that he knows it can't be good.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to remember. It was right before she turned me back into my other identity whatever that is so it's a little blurry, but I can vaguely remember. "Something about…more tributes including the Capitol and District 13. Like four I think from each. And it can be any age, not just 12-18. Victors are required to live in the Capitol to either be Gamemakers or mentors all year round. And something about…yes, something about the military." I try to recall. The way they look at me is a mix of horror and desperately trying not to believe me even though I can tell they do. But I know I've not given them enough. I know I know more, I just can't remember it. "Yeah, it's bad."

"It's like an entire mix of Quarter Quells in one." Katniss whispers under her breath almost in horror. Well it's nice to know that at least they're trying to trust me. Hopefully they really are getting over the whole Snow's granddaughter thing. I honestly wish for the umpteenth time that I was born into another family. Anything at all would be better, I'm convinced.

"Well I hate to break this up, but they're going to notice that we're all gone soon enough." I eventually say with a grimace. I know that means Alma turning me back into whoever she has me pretending to be, but it could be worse if she realizes that I was here again. With them of all people. They nod with frowns and find the square key thing, but before they go I have to know. It's the only piece I can't seem to figure out.

"Who's this Leta girl that they keep talking about?" I ask them. If they're trying to get Gale to marry the girl it would make sense that I would have at least met her before if she's here in District 13. They exchange a look that looks like a part grimace, part almost…amusement?

"You." Katniss finally answers me. "Well, the you before this one." She nods to my looks. At first I'm shocked by this but then I almost snort and roll my eyes. Of course.

"Why am I not surprised." I mutter before walking through the vibrating wall into the real District 13. He would do that to me. In fact, I bet it was Snow's plan all along. Get the people I'm trying to help to despise me all the while punishing me because I can never be myself.

I vaguely wonder if he planned to use me like that all along. I really wouldn't put it past him. The question is, what is Alma going to do with it?

It kind of scares me that I already know the answer to that. If her plan is to make Snow's plan backfire, then that means the people will still hate me. And if they hate the girl that Gale's supposedly marrying, she won't hesitate to rid Panem of her. People will cheer for the bitch that tried to take Gale away from his family and they won't cry over her death.

There's really no way for me to win, is there?

Snow's POV

"Bring her in." I nod towards the peacekeepers with a sigh. If only things would simply go as planned for once. No matter, this is the reason why I'm always planning three steps ahead. I don't have to ever start from square one.

"Ah, the rebel medic is it?" I greet the young woman in a tattered blue coat. While we lost all the districts once again to the rebels far faster than I expected, some peacekeepers did happen to capture this young woman who had been spotted aiding a certain young man and his wife with them. The wife that should still not be remembered by him at all.

"I still don't see what you want from me." she replies, her honestly clear. No, she wouldn't know, now would she?

"I simply would like to know every detail of your treatment with a Mr. Hawthorne. I assure you that you aren't in any trouble." I insist with a warm smile. She appears baffled still, but huffs and eventually answers.

"It's like I told them over and over. He had a head wound and I helped Katniss bring him into a building as I treated him. Once he woke I checked over him briefly again and left." She answers, but it's not enough.

"How was he acting? How did they interact when he woke up?" I question her and she appears to be confused but just shrugs.

"Like all couples do. Relieved and all that. Even kissed I think as I left." She informs me.

Really, is that so? Well this is not what it was supposed to be, that's for certain. It appears that he somehow remembers her once more, most likely a reverse effect with the concussions.

No matter, I can handle it. The plans haven't changed, they simply have to be readjusted. In fact, it may be better this way. Perhaps I can even punish two little rebel birds with one stone all the while being themselves, the punishment greater by it. One sham of a marriage can break them all, I'm certain of it.

It's not over until it's over.


	29. Point

Gale's POV

"What do you mean she's coming?" Katniss seethes in this final meeting before we go pick up troops from all the districts as well as bring some to the Capitol. Ever since we recaptured District 1 I've been waiting eagerly to storm the Capitol, but I never imagined it would be like this. Not in a million years.

Because who demands that a seven year old be brought with troops? Coin would. Of course. And the annoying part is that I can't even seem pissed about it because we still have to pretend that I'm still a forgetful ass so that we can trick Snow and Coin and whoever else isn't on our side so that we can force their hands on whatever it is they're trying to do . We already know that they are trying to get me to marry this girl named Leta (Penny, really) to piss everyone off because I'm married to Katniss. And that honestly pisses me off too, but at least we have some sort of plan for that one. If that's all that happens and Katniss happens to be there, Penny's going to 'knock' me on the head because she's frustrated with something and I'll 'come to my senses' and run right to Katniss. If she's not there…well, maybe we'll do a sort of rendition of that. I don't know, it will be better if we actually knew when and where this supposed wedding was happening if it is at all. Because really I choose not at all.

But in all those plans, not one of them included Kennie. No, she's supposed to have been in hiding with Johanna already, but we couldn't come up with a verifiable way to get a hovercraft to go that way and sneak her on it. But even if we didn't she's most definitely not supposed to be coming on this trip with us to the Districts or the Capitol. No way in hell.

"She's the symbol of the rebellion Katniss. You allowed her to be the Phoenix and people are going to expect their symbol to be out and about, not hidden here in District 13." Plutarch argues. Too bad for him that it only accomplishes sending Katniss off on another rant. I really would love to rant myself because I'm just as angry as she is but honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her worked up about something quite like this. It's an interesting thing to see because usually I'm the one off the edge ranting.

"A, I didn't make her the Phoenix, I told you I would do it and you practically forced her to be." Katniss begins, glaring at Haymitch as she finishes that line. What the fuck did he do? "And B, do you realize that what you want is to send a child into a battlefield? Not. Happening."

"It's not a battlefield; it's just picking up troops. All she'd have to do would be to be seen in a propo, maybe shaking hands with some soldiers boarding or handing them a water bottle." One of Coin's lackey's insists that is not Boggs. Boggs has been relatively quiet but he's been nodding along with most of this, I think more to save his own ass. While he's been vehemently on our side ever since Coin pulled that shit move with forcing a pregnant Annie to be in the star squad going to District 1 to punish Finnick, ever since we returned he's had to pretend that everything is just as normal. I think it's partially to save himself a world of trouble (or perhaps being manipulated by Coin. He thinks the only reason he hasn't been is because she adamantly trusts him to always be on her side), but also so he can give us information that otherwise we would not have, going into those hidden hallways to spy or no. Either way, I'm grateful for the guy to be on our side in this world where it seems no one is.

"I don't care! In no way will I ever let you bring my daughter!" Katniss fumes and sighs can be heard around the room. This is the first I've heard an argument like this (or at least that I can remember), but I honestly don't understand what they don't understand about this. What if it was their kid?

"Gale, what do you think?" a voice asks me in exasperation, bringing out of my musing as I snap back into reality.

"Think about what?" I question them, and Katniss glares at me. And it's not the fake kind of glare that we've done since we've been pretend fighting, it's the real kind. As in I wasn't paying attention and I really should be, pretending or no.

"Sending Makenna in just for the propos. All she would have to do is be on camera." Penny (or Vibia as she at least appears to be right now if she isn't under Coin's drugs) states when no one else does.

"Isn't she like six?" I ask, and Katniss gives me an almost undetectable warning look. What, just because I have to pretend I don't know them doesn't mean I'm not against a little kid going with troops. Besides, I said she was six as if I didn't know she was seven. Not only does it show that I 'don't care about her' but that I 'don't even know how old my daughter is' too. Maybe this will keep them in the dark further.

"Seven actually. And she's already done propos outside of this district as well." Plutarch corrects me. Right, as if that's supposed to make it better. I wonder if he's under so much of Coin's influence that he's just ignoring me not knowing Kennie is my child or he's just getting tired of correcting me. Honestly, I'm thinking it's the latter. Most people besides Katniss and our families have just come to the conclusion that I'm stubborn and crazy and I'll never get it so there's no use in correcting me anymore I think. I don't see that as a bad thing though if we're keeping them in the dark as long as possible though.

"Will people even like it? She is pretty young and we don't need the districts on our side anymore. They already are." I point out. I don't care if it would be better to pretend I didn't care, but I'm pretty sure even if I didn't remember her I'd still be against sending any kid. And I do make a valid point with the districts I think.

"It's not for the districts; it's for the Capitol to see it." Coin counters me.

"You're right, if Snow sees her out and about it will anger him further. Show him exactly how confident we are." Someone else adds.

"And it will make for a fabulous image." Plutarch's assistant smiles and I want to half strangle her. Who the fuck cares about a 'fabulous image' anyway?

"I'm still saying no way in hell." Katniss argues adamently, arms crossed in front of her chest and a well…pissed expression gracing her face.

"And I'm saying that there is no choice. Not if we are going to win this war." Coin argues back.

"She can stay with you the whole time, I promise." Plutarch offers.

"…fine." Katniss huffs and leaves the room. Despite barely keeping my I don't care and I don't know mask, I am all at once shocked and utterly suspicious. Katniss would never agree like that. Not unless she had a plan that is. And I intend to find out exactly what that is.

The meeting continues for another forty-five minutes after Katniss stormed out and for the most part people are just going with Katniss is still mad about it but she's going to let it happen. I mostly just stay quiet but add in my opinions here and there on where troops should stay and exactly where they should go in the Capitol until we're finally dismissed. Before I walk out I find Coin leading Penny away and she gives me a pleading, cross look as she's taken around the corner and I sigh internally. I know I can't help her even though I want to, because obviously she's going to be injected with whatever it is again that makes her act like this Vibia and if we want to keep it under wraps she has to just go with it. She knows it, I know it, but there's nothing we can do about it. If only this whole thing was just over and done with already.

I amble around for a while before heading down to see Finnick, wondering if they are actually going to allow him to come on this trip or not with us. There's a lot of hovercrafts going because we're going to every district, so it's possible he could sneak on one. Or not. You never know.

But on my way there I'm pulled by my wrist into another door and I'm on my guard until I see who it is and instantly relax.

"Hey Catnip." I greet her, but she doesn't let go of her grip on my wrist.

"What the hell was that?" she half seethes in a whisper and I shrug, taking my wrist back and pulling her to me into an embrace which she reluctantly comes.

"Oh relax, I was just playing along." I assure her, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple before letting her go.

"Hi Daddy!" Kennie greets me and I pick her up even though she's getting too old and smack a kiss on her cheek which makes her giggle.

"Hey sweetie, what have you been doing?" I ask her, glad that I can. It's not as hard as Katniss when it comes to pretending to not remember her because I don't see her as often since she's in school, but it's still rough. Luckily I know that it's alright to be normal here, because obviously Katniss wouldn't have said or done anything when she pulled me in this room if it wasn't. I don't honestly remember not remembering them still, but it's nice to have my family back.

"School. And Uncle Finn has been helping me make a necklace." She tells me and I glance around until I find Finnick smiling at us from the table and Annie in a sort of daze on the bed.

"Has he now?" I quirk an eyebrow, amused by this plenty. I usually leave the making jewelry stuff to Posy, not doing it myself with her.

"Yes and I'm not ashamed." Finnick gives me a grin. Hmm, maybe he's just practicing being a dad since he has a kid on the way. He'll make a hell of a father if he's already fine with doing this stuff with Kennie.

"Mommy helped too." Kennie informs me and I smile at her.

"Well sort of. I handed her the beads she wanted." Katniss admits as I put Kennie down on the floor and she goes back over to the table to finish her necklace. Finnick glances to Annie before she nods and comes over from the bed to the table, instantly taking Finnick's seat that he vacates while Annie resumes Finnick's duties of helping Kennie with her jewelry making before he comes over to us.

"Anything else happen after she left?" Finnick asks me in a low voice, obviously trying to keep the conversation from Kennie.

"No, not really. Not regarding Kennie anyway." I inform them and Katniss appears to tense up again, clearly still agitated about the decision to bring Kennie for the propos. I pull her to my side with my arm around her waist and she seems to relax a bit, but not much. Oh well, I tried.

"Alright. Once we find out what district they're sending her to we've got a plan." Finnick informs me and I quirk an eyebrow.

"Boggs told us that he thinks this is when they're going to…'kidnap' her." Katniss tells me, and I look down to her to find her face in a twisted frown. She clearly doesn't like the idea any better than I do but before I can say as much Finnick continues.

"So we decided that we're not going to make that possible. We're going to 'kidnap' her ourselves and bring her to Jo." Finnick whispers and I look at him. Interesting way of getting around that. Hey, let's fake kidnap my daughter and send her into nonexistence or let's actually let them do it and send her to Snow. Actually, anything is better than the latter so I guess I'm game. Or at least I know it's the best option currently.

"How?" I question him and I can see him grimace a little.

"I'm still working on that." He admits. "I know if they actually let me go they're going to watch me like a hawk so I can't bring her myself, but maybe you could?"

"Me? How?" I ask. As if they won't watch me too. Besides the fact that I probably won't even be on the same hovercraft as Katniss and Kennie let alone the same district.

"A disguise maybe. You could pretend you were a medic." He shrugs, but he's not getting the point.

"No I'm saying how are we going to get her on the same hovercraft as me? She's supposed to be with Katniss." I remind him.

"I could just pretend she was with me until we get there. I doubt they'll pay much attention to me and we can have her with me right up until I get on the hovercraft." Katniss quietly offers.

"Are you alright with that?" I ask her, almost astonished that she's suggesting it.

After a moment of hesitation, she nods. "Yes. As long as she's with you I know she'll be alright."

"Well alright then." I agree, though I know she's not fully on board with it. Frankly, neither am I but it's the way it has to be. And the disguise will still keep people in the dark on thinking that I remember Kennie and I would never in a million years let anything bad happen to her no matter what. I'd give us away before I let anything happen to her.

"Good. Let's figure things out then." Finnick nods, and we leave Kennie and Annie to their beading while we sit on the bed in the corner farthest away and talk for hours coming up with a precise plan. We know this can work if we do it right.

It has to work.

Johanna's POV

I honestly couldn't tell you how long I've been back here in what's left of District 7, but I can't say that I mind. I can do whatever the hell I want most of the time, I'm not worried about Snow or peacekeepers banging on my door to arrest me or worse, and I've found plenty to do when it comes to 'hunting' food and just wielding my ax for the hell of it. Thank god that Gale taught me a few basic snares over the years because otherwise I'd have a hell of a lot more trouble getting food. Now I usually get something at least once a day with all the snares I have scattered throughout the forrest and since it's just me eating it it's pretty easy to be full enough. You know, being presumed dead really isn't that bad at all.

Of course comes the times when I have to 'come back to life' too, when I contact the people we can trust in the Capitol or occasionally other districts for information. I haven't really had any contact with Finnick or Beetee, but I do have a file of information waiting for them. And I'm happy to say that I can give it to them tomorrow because about a week ago I finally got contacted by them for the meeting I've been waiting for.

Honestly I wonder who they're going to send. They told me in a insanely cryptic message that basically I'm going to have another person hiding out with me, but I don't actually know who. Who could it possibly be anyway? If they 'kill' anyone else that's well known people are going to start getting pretty fucking suspicious I'd think. Or at least I would. Anyway, basically all that means for me now is that I've been putting away any extra food I find and hoping that I don't despise whoever it is. Honestly, I don't think Finn would send someone I hated but I do hate a lot of people. You never know though.

Since I knew it would be a long journey I started off yesterday to meet at the same place I left whenever that was, back on the almost boundary of Districts 7 and 8. I'm pretty close already so I'll probably just stay in a tree for the night, and maybe even tomorrow too. I should at least recognize whoever is coming but I know that they will have Finn and my password that they know I'll kill them if they get it wrong. Or at least I hope they know that.

It's actually a rather boring night and day to be honest, and most of it is spent sitting in my tree and debating with myself. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to agree to Finn's request or not. Once I eventually simmered down on the hurt and anger (though it's still present), I still don't know whether to do it or not. I mean I know it will kill me, but I know Finn will be happy if I do. And really, it's not Annie's fault. I know that no matter how much I wish it was. Because if I didn't love Finn as more than a friend than I wouldn't be having this problem at all.

Eventually I hear a little noise though it's not very prominent and climb down the tree, glancing in the direction of the noise and getting a hint of white. Why would someone be wearing white in the woods? Seems pretty fucking stupid to me. Unless they're a medic and I don't know why Finn would send a medic.

But once they come into view I'm shocked, almost dropping my ax in surprise. Because the two people in front of me are probably two of the last people I would have ever thought would be here.

"Hey Johanna." Gale greets me, and my eyes are still widened in surprise but I don't let down my defensive stance. He notices and remembers he was supposed to tell me a password. "Oh right." He mutters and tells me the correct one. I idly wonder if he knows the meaning behind it but that's far back in my mind at the minute.

"Hey Hawthorne." I nod, putting my ax away because I have a feeling even though Kennie has seen me wield one she's almost as confused as I am as to why she's here.

"So are you finally not an asshole amnesia patient?" I question him, because he seems normal to me.

He smirks a little but nods. "Yep, back to myself."

"Then why are you here?" I finally ask bluntly what's been on my mind.

"Long story."

I bet so.


	30. Acting

Johanna's POV

Well isn't this a change of events; I went from a not dead spy/information gatherer living on my own in my destroyed home courtesy of the Capitol to being a still not dead spy as well as a babysitter. I mean I knew that Kennie would be a target but this is just ridiculous. Honestly I don't know what the fuck Finn was thinking when he thought that I would be the best person to watch her so no one else can take her. I'm not exactly 'kid friendly' you know.

It's not really the only problem I have with this either. Not only do I think this is a retarded idea because they are obviously going to realize that they know something and are hiding Kennie somewhere, but they're going to go looking for her too. You can bet your ass they will. If the 'kidnappers' don't tell Snow that they don't have her, Coin will. I already know that they're working together so it's going to be infinitely more difficult to keep from all of them instead of just one group.

Another reason is that I don't know the first thing about kids. Sure I've been around Kennie for a while now and I did have brothers and sisters at one point, but that doesn't mean I know shit about taking care of one. Especially one who clearly doesn't want to be here and is still confused as hell as to why. A crying child because her dad just dropped her off (granted regretfully) for her own safety. Honestly, I'm pretty fucking impressed that he got her here at all because if they're watching their every move it had to have taken some effort to make that happen. I'd guess that's what's with the shitty disguise as a medic but still.

But it's not like I have a choice in the matter; like it or not, Kennie is staying with me and there's not much I can do about it. I look down to her where she's been quiet on our walk back to my bunker for hours, ever since Gale left.

"Something wrong Kennie?" I question her and she looks at me a shrugs.

"I don't know what's happening." she admits to me after a moment. "Mommy and Daddy don't tell me what's going on and Uncle Finn keeps taking me from Aunt Posy and Grandma and everyone and saying that he wants to play with me more."

"Kennie, do you know why you're here?" I ask her, because I'm pretty pissed that they left me with a kid who has no fucking clue what's going on. I mean she's little yeah, but I think it's better to know. And I'm certainly not going to keep anything from her, that's for sure.

"No."

"You're here because some bad people want to take you and we're hiding you." I reveal and she looks up to me with a confused look on her face.

"Why?" she questions me, obviously trying to wrap her head around it.

"Because you're special." I tell her, the only reason I can think of at the moment. And because we're playing with power hungry bastards that will do anything to take control.

"No I'm not." she insists, and I have to roll my eyes. She really doesn't understand how different her life is from other kids, does she?

"Well neither am I." I tell her, going with it. After all, here we're just two people living in the wilderness hiding from people. It's true enough I guess.

"So what are we gonna do?" she asks me, and I smirk.

"You still like hunting?"

"Yes!" she claims brightly, and it's strange to see her face change from confusion and sadness into joy in a split second like only a child could do. Maybe she really is more the same as any little kid.

"Good, because you're finding food for us." I declare, happy the job won't be my own anymore. At least that's one good thing out of this whole fucked up thing.

Katniss's POV

"What do you mean she's been kidnapped!" I shriek, playing along like I should. I know she's not really because Gale came back from his hovercraft and gave me an almost imperceptible nod in acknowledgement that the plan was pulled off and Kennie is safe in Johanna's hands, but part of that staying that way is for me to act like she's really been kidnapped. I'm not the best actress by far, but maybe if I just pretend that it's real I can pull this off.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Hawthorne, but-" one of the soldiers begins, but I cut him off.

"No! You listen! How on earth are you telling me that my daughter has been taken!" I scream at him, fuming and my hands shaking. I'm trying to make it look like I'm in the denial phase before I break down, but for that part I plan on running off because for one I probably wouldn't do that in front of them and two, my acting skills only go so far.

"We couldn't find her after her tour of the hovercraft. We believe that she was taken by some spies of Snow's and we thought she had gone back to you." Boggs explains, thankfully a much better actor than I am. He was in on the plan only because we knew that we needed someone closer to Coin to back it up if we were going to pull this off.

In all actuality, there was a tour with a kid just for appearances sake, but it happened to be Bogg's niece who is around Kennie's age that we put a hat on that matched Kennie's so people wouldn't really take a second glance if they happened to see them. All the while Gale had taken Kennie as soon as I boarded the hovercraft going to District 3 while he had stolen a medic uniform and boarded the one to District 8.

Finnick had been allowed to go on a hovercraft for the propos because Plutarch decided that people would start wondering why he wasn't appearing in anything, but like he predicted he was watched like a hawk the entire time and he wasn't even on the right hovercraft, I think he went to District 10 in the end. But even so, the plan was pulled off and Kennie is safe, which is the important part. Now the biggest part we all have now is keeping it under wraps.

"And then you lied to me?" I yell, darting angry glares in his direction. "Tell me instead that she's just doing the propo on her own?"

"We didn't want you to worry; we needed the propo from you and what if she was safe and we just didn't know it?" Plutarch tries to explain, but I'm having none of it.

"You thought it was better to lie to me that you lost my child!" I shriek again, my hands curling into fists. No acting on this part, this really does irate me beyond belief. How on earth could they possibly lie to me about something like that? Who does that? And for all things, just for a stupid propo? I don't care if Plutarch is being manipulated by Snow, that's a low move for anyone.

"Soldier Hawthorne, calm down." Coin orders and I whip my head around to glare into her horribly dull face which is trying to keep me under control on something like this. I just continue to glare at her instead of saying anything, and I see her face change into a barely detectable…suspicious look? How could she possibly know that Kennie was taken by us for precaution measures instead? I mean even if she knows from whoever actually tried to probably take Kennie that she wasn't really taken it could have been someone else. Finn had brought that up when we were discussing what to do, that Coin would know that she wasn't really kidnapped but Gale decided that we should bank on the fact that Snow could always have another team in place as a sort of double crossing move to keep Coin out of it so he could get what he wanted anyway. I mean, I wouldn't put it past him either to be honest. And once we figured out that we weren't going to be able to pull this off without Boggs he agreed to suggest this as an explanation should Coin get suspicious. Looks like he might need to use it after all.

But I don't plan to stick around for that, and with this last comment I'll take that as my cue to leave. It's not only slightly insensitive but this insanity is too much for me to handle even if it's not actually real. In all honestly even if my daughter wasn't really kidnapped she's still not here with me and I'm still worried about her, so all of this stupid explanations and excuses on their part are still ticking me off. So with a glare towards everyone in the room, I keep the tone of my voice relatively normal for the first time all meeting but the seething and annoyance in my tone cannot be mistaken.

"President Coin, I will calm down when my daughter is safe in my arms again. If you had any sense of what a parent feels for their child you would understand, but since you obviously can't, don't bother trying to make me do anything until that happens."

With that I stalk out of the room, slamming the door closed on my way out and in a way I feel very satisfied with what just occurred. There's not many instances I could get away with telling Coin that she's basically a heartless woman who can't understand anything how real people feel, but I'm pretty sure this is one of them. They'll probably just write it off as me being an overprotective and sensitive mother but either way I feel better.

Well, I feel better anyway until I'm caught off guard and I feel a hand pulling me towards the wall where I feel myself go through it's vibrations, and almost panic until I realize that I've just been pulled into the secret hallway. My eyes are still adjusting to the dimness of this hidden hallway but I'm no longer apprehensive about who just pulled me in her when I sense the lips I know almost better than my own on mine, his hands going around my waist before pulling away.

"Nice exit by the way." He smirks at me and I roll my eyes.

"You saw that?" I question him. I didn't know that there were any cameras that looked into Command but I guess it makes sense in a way. I mean if there's cameras for Coin's office then looking into Command isn't exactly that bad. But I guess Gale has had more time to explore these hallways than I have because unlike me, he actually doesn't have to be in Command all that often on the basis that 'I'm still mad at him for not remembering me' and 'Since he's obviously not entirely right in the head he might not be as much of a help.' Gale minds more than he'd like to admit but he knows that it's for the best for now.

"Do you really think I'd miss the show?" he questions me with a quirked eyebrow, indicating that I'm almost stupid for asking.

"No, I just didn't know there was another way you could besides being there." I counter, sticking my tongue out at him with a smile. He gives me one more lingering kiss before sighing.

"Well at least they don't seem to know where she really is." he eventually states, though there's a hint of sadness to it that I feel as well. We both wish it wasn't necessary to hide Kennie in the first place but it's for the best.

"For now." I reply, voicing one of my fears. It's one thing for Johanna to go missing because she wasn't their stupid symbol and according to the world she's dead, but Kennie isn't.

"Katniss…" Gale sighs, knowing where I'm going with this but I say them out loud anyway.

"What if they realize that Snow doesn't really have her? What if they figure out she's with Johanna? What if-"

"Katniss, stop." Gale orders me, placing his hands on my cheeks and making me look right into his hard eyes, actually making me stop talking for once. With a sigh he squeezes his eyes shut before opening them again, a hint of worry visible but for the most part they just look well…like he knows he needs to comfort me. "Makenna's going to be fine and we're going to figure this out. I promise."

In response I sigh, knowing that there really isn't a good response to that. Instead I wrap my hands around his waist and press myself into his chest, taking comfort from his steady heartbeat as he gently kisses the top of my head while his arms wrap around my shoulders before burying his face in my hair. We stand there like this in silence for a while, just taking comfort in each other's arms and cherishing this embrace that we can only do here in private where there aren't any cameras that can be suspicious of us actually loving each other and Gale actually remembering who I am again. But eventually we know we have work to do, and I pull away first, lacing his fingers with mine as he leads us somewhere he feels that we need to be watching today.

I don't actually know where we're going until we get there, the different set of cameras indicating that we will be watching Coin's office today. Frankly I'm sort of surprised because I thought it might be better to watch Command since I'm guessing that's where Coin will be most of the day, but Gale seems to think this is the right place to be.

"Why are we here? Coin will be in Command for a while." I voice out loud and he squeezes my hand before grimacing a little.

"Just because Coin's not there doesn't mean that there's nothing to watch." he exclaims with a bitter look. Curious as to what this means, I let go of his hand and peak into one of the little circles that are like windows to Coin's office.

What I find surprises me, though I don't know why it should when Gale just basically told me that stuff goes on in here even if Coin's not here. What I find now is Prim just exiting another room in the office, a doctor escorting her out with a hand on her back while she has a hand on her now noticeable protruding belly. She seems…out of it almost. It's weird and it makes me nervous for her.

"Prim." I whisper without realizing it, and I feel Gale's hands come to rest on my shoulders as I keep looking in pain at the now empty office, my eyes still playing the scene. Prim…it was almost like she was…hypnotized or something. Like her eyes weren't really clear. Frankly, it frightens me. I had been told she was being manipulated but I hadn't really seen the effects before.

"They're doing stuff to them. All of our family. Prim, Rory, mom…even Posy." Gale informs me in a low voice laced with pain and anger, and when I turn around I find him glancing towards the other camera with a heavy expression.

"All of them?" I ask in a tiny voice, even if I already know the answer. In response he nods slightly, still gazing to the camera.

"All I can do is watch them go in and out over and over, and I can't even figure out a reason anymore." He replies, and I can sense an annoyance there too. Of course he's annoyed, he can watch it all he wants but can't do anything at all. Because if he did, then who knows what would happen? We know Snow and Coin's plans to an extent, but they require Gale not remembering me or Kennie and to counter them somehow we need them to think it's still that way. All he can do for our sake is watch and listen, not do like he always does. Like he certainly wants to do.

And all I can do to comfort him at the moment is take his hand in mine and squeeze it, showing him I feel the same and I know how he feels too. And so we stay that way for a while, just holding hands and looking into the two peepholes into Coin's office, thinking no doubt the whole time how incredibly horrible and awful this all is and worrying for our daughter who we can't even talk to, hoping that she will stay safe and undetected up in the dilapidated District 7 with the not so dead Johanna Mason.

The silence is what keeps us company for hours, as nothing more happens for a while. I'm beginning to grow bored with it and suggest that we take off and come back tomorrow, but no sooner than the words almost come out of my mouth Coin comes in with Boggs following closely behind along with another one of her lackeys.

"I'm telling you, I don't know where the kid went." Boggs insists as he takes a seat, groaning in frustration. "All I know is that I took the kid with me on a tour like you said and I turned around to find her not there anymore."

"The team which was supposed to take her didn't find her. They reported straight to me but the child is still missing." Coin insists as she gets a drink from her refrigerator before sitting down at her desk, Boggs and the lackey sitting across from her.

"Maybe Snow has another team. One you don't know about." Boggs suggests, just as we thought he might have to. Coin's eyes barely go up in surprise, but her tone is still cold.

"Are you suggesting that my brother is double crossing me? This was my plan after all." She admits and my hand not holding Gale's curls into a fist. So she was planning to kidnap Kennie after all. I don't know why I'm so angry at this when I already had guessed this. Maybe I was still holding on to the tiniest shred of hope that she was on our side after all, but this obviously shows otherwise.

"You never know." Boggs shrugs, clearly a better actor for sure than I am. He seems so calm about this when he knows the truth.

"What if the mother hid her?" the lackey suggests and Boggs gives him a surprised look.

"That's ridiculous. She couldn't have known." Boggs insists, but I think he might have come to my defense just a little too quickly. Coin just looks at him for a minute before nodding towards the lackey who takes Boggs by surprise and knocks him unconscious with a punch to the neck, Boggs slumping over as the lackey injects something into him.

"That's not good." Gale murmurs with worry, and I have to agree. Crap.


	31. Deceivers

Gale's POV

Oh shit, this can't be good. Does Coin know that we hid Kennie to keep her safe from not only Snow but her? Does she know that Boggs helped us, is keeping secrets for us while still playing her lackey to get more information and keep tabs? It certainly seems like it from the scene in front of us.

"There you are!" a relieved out of breath almost childlike voice calls out, making me jump from the surprise and automatically pulling Katniss behind me to protect her just on instinct even though the voice doesn't sound like a threat at all. Damn, where have my hunter's senses gone? I should have heard them coming long before now, and as I can see Albert coming along the dark hallway trying to catch his breath I feel stupid. He's not exactly the most quiet of kids, how did I not hear him? Maybe I really haven't hunted enough lately to keep my skills up I guess, but it's still mildly embarrassing in my mind.

"What is it?" Katniss asks him, coming around from behind me and her tone has some alarm in it though mostly she just seems curious. After all, what is Beetee's nephew doing in these hallways apparently looking for us? It doesn't surprise me that he knows about the hidden hallways, but it does that he's actually in them.

"They're coming for you, it's a trick." He claims while pointing to me and I give him a completely baffled expression. Coming for me? What's a trick? But he's still trying to catch his breath so maybe I heard it wrong. Or at least I hope that I did.

"What's a trick?" I question him again, taking in his desperate expression, begging to be listened to.

"This!" he points towards the little peepholes that Katniss and I were just looking through. "President Coin knows that you've been coming in here and they're distracting you so that they can take you by surprise. Uncle Beetee saw them in the hall waiting to come in here just a few minutes ago."

"Are you sure?" I question him, wondering how they could have realized. I mean yeah I've been spending a lot of time in here, but how could they know that? I'd been careful…or at least I thought I had. Did someone tell on me? Not Beetee or Finnick surely, but maybe Penny could have if she wasn't her real self. I hope not but either way something tipped them off. Shit.

Albert nods and takes Katniss's wrists, his eyes pleading with her. "Please come with me. Uncle Beetee said if they find you too it will be really bad."

Katniss hesitates and looks to me, but I sigh and nod at her. "Go. Whatever it is it's not going to be any better if you're here too." I insist, but she's still protesting.

"Gale-"

"Please." I plead with her, caressing her cheek quickly so she understands that I'll be okay, but she has to get out of here. I'm not going to be the one responsible for her getting into a bigger world of trouble than we already are just because she wants to stay with me.

"Alright. Be careful." She huffs, and at Albert's insistant tug she follows him as I call I love you to her and I hear her faint reply as she's pulled around the corner to Beetee's.

With a sigh I decide it's not going to look good when I'm caught if I'm not acting normally, so I go back to watching Coin's office. I briefly think about disappearing too but somehow I think it's better to stick around even if it's just to see what Coin knows. Besides, if they didn't find me when they know I'm here that wouldn't help Katniss or anyone else. They'd know that I had fair warning.

The scene in the office is pretty much how I left it a few minutes ago Boggs passed out in the chair and Coin and her lackey talking, setting things up. I wonder if Boggs knew about this sham of a set up and then think what if he did? What if he willingly did this? Or maybe he had to because Coin was already suspicious of him helping us and this was a way to make me stay here, but he'll help me once I'm there. Or at least I hope so.

I can sense and hear my almost captors before they come, but pretend I don't have my hunter's senses about me and stick to watching Coin's office right up until they grab onto me, and I act startled as they cuff my hands behind my back.

"Right this way Soldier Hawthorne." One of them says gruffly and I struggle with the bonds and reply.

"What the hell?"

"You have a date with President Coin. No one gets away with spying." A different one replies rather smartassish for a District 13 soldier, and for the rest of the way to Coin's office I'm silent and brooding, trying mostly in vain to think of what this could possibly be about. It can't only be about my spying, which means what does she know? What does she want with me? And how can I still do what I want without her knowing?

But to my surprise we don't go to Coin's office, and instead they lead me down to a level I've never been to and no sooner than I see the bars that replace walls that I realize that this is most definitely not only an interrogation session. No, this is Coin being far more suspicious of me than she should be, because for the second time in the last six months I know something for certain that I wish never would have happened.

That I'm once again a prisoner of a President.

Snow's POV

"You can't be serious. What do you mean they didn't capture her? The girl is seven years old, she's not that hard to catch." My estranged most annoying younger sister yelled at me, and I just huffed in frustration. Did she honestly think that I was double crossing her on this? The Hawthorne girl was my number one target, the one vital person I needed in my grasp for any of my plans to work, both the one's Alma knows about and the real ones. But she slipped from our grasp and now she's disappeared into thin air.

"I don't know." I reply, though it's not as honest as it should be. Because I'm smarter than her, which is the very reason why I'm the ruler of Panem and she is the ruler of a forgotten, hidden until recently District; I have personally known these people longer than her. I know what makes them tick, what I can use to make them do as I please. It also means that I can predict their moves the majority of the time.

"You mean you don't have the girl with you and you're lying to me? That you didn't have a separate team pick her up?" she accuses me to which I roll my eyes.

"If I did then we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we Alma?" I remind her. No, the team I sent was the only team, and what that team claimed to me was that there was a child but not Makenna. No, she was not even there. Which means that more likely than not since Alma is acting like this it is not her double crossing me but the parents. Who do in fact remember each other and their child. If they had caught wind of the plan or even had an inkling that my sister was not quite the rebel she claims to be then they would have done something about it.

"Very well then. You do your best to find the girl and I'll do the same." She frowns before signing off the video, clearly not quite believing me. With good cause of course. Because unlike what I have been telling her, I do have an idea of where the girl is; and what I believe is that she's very much alive and well.

For now.

"Ah good, you have the codes cracked then?" I question the head of my intelligence team who has come into my office. He wouldn't have dared to come in unannounced unless it was important.

"Yes Mr. President." He claims as he hands me the decoded file as I flip through it. "It appears that this particular rebel we caught wind of had contact with someone we presumed dead."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow, and peruse the file myself and I almost laugh when I realize who it is. Not dead indeed; that girl always was the master of deception. "I think it's time to have our guest come to the Capitol, don't you?"

"Yes sir."

Katniss's POV

"It's been days Beetee. Days." I remind him frantically as I pace back and forth through his office. I had to leave Gale four days ago because Albert warned us that Coin knew Gale was spying in the hidden hallways, and I haven't seen or heard from him since. No one has. Even Beetee for all his technology cannot find him on the carmeras and I'm starting to be worried sick. It's one thing for me to purposefully make Kennie be away from me for her own safety but now Gale is missing too and I'm starting to go crazy on my own. I can't even talk to our families because they're being manipulated and it's driving me insane.

"I know Katniss, I'm trying." He replies quietly but I whip my head around and glare at him.

"Well try harder." I demand, crossing my arms in front of my chest. For goodness's sake District 13 in all reality is not that big. He should have been found by now.

"He's doing his best Katniss." Annie of all people reprimands me and my glare softens towards her. I have a newfound respect for Annie after District 2 when she was quite normal for once and I know she's just trying to calm me down because worrying isn't going to help Gale, but it doesn't really make me feel any better.

"It's just…where is he? He wasn't taken to Coin's office and I thought he'd be long back by now." I question out loud, what we've all been asking for days now.

"Do you think Coin could have sent him to the Capitol?" Finnick asks aloud, and while I think it may be true Beetee frowns and shakes his head.

"No. Even if Coin is working with Snow it would be in her best interests to keep Gale here at all costs, under her power and hers alone for as long as possible." He declares, and in a way I agree with him. And in a sick way it makes me feel better. Because at least if he's here than he's close and we can somehow find him.

"And yet we can't find him." I protest again, brooding.

"Maybe there isn't a camera where he is." Annie suggests, and we all look at her incredulous. Because she could be right but there are cameras everywhere here. It's ridiculous that there could be somewhere without it. Unless…

"There isn't." a voice answers her, and we all turn our heads towards the door where Boggs is leaning against the doorframe.

"Where is he?" I demand to know, turning my fury towards him. Because while I definitely believe that he's truly on our side, if he knew he should have told me a long time ago. In fact, he shouldn't have let this happen in the first place.

"In the dungeon." He tells me with a grimace and my mouth drops open. The dungeon? I didn't even know District 13 had one.

"What's he doing there?" Finnick questions him and he sighs.

"Coin's mostly suspicious of him and questions his reasons for spying, but honestly I think it's so she can easily transport him to the Capitol at her pleasure." Boggs reveals and I bury my face in my hands. Gosh why is this so difficult. I feel arms come around my shoulders to comfort me and glance up to find that it's Finnick. And while it's nice of him, it's not the right arms and I miss those ones almost too much to handle.

"What reasons did he give?" Beetee asks.

There's a moment's pause, but eventually Bogg's voice answers, "Curiosity. Trying to figure out if what everyone's been yelling at him at since he got here was true. To find out if Katniss and Makenna were really his family."

"And?" Finnick questions him, anxious for the reply. It was stupid and dangerous of Gale to bring that up, but I guess it's better than the truth.

"She seemed to believe him in a way, but not why he was looking into her office." Boggs sighed. "It's a mess, but he's for the most part alright. Just…not entirely safe."

"Is there any way to get him out of there?" I finally ask, dropping my hands.

"Yes actually. We'll be sending squads to the Capitol in a few days and he's going to have to be on the star squad again. Since Annie here is obviously pregnant she'll be staying here but she's thinking about letting you take her place Finnick." Boggs informs us, and Finnick lights up. It's exactly what he wanted and he knows Annie will be safe and sound.

"Good. Anything else?" I smile a little and he hesitates but nods eventually.

"Yeah. Once in the Capitol…well I have a feeling that Coin's not trusting me entirely. You have to promise me something, both of you." He looks at me and then Finnick.

"What?" Finnick asks, his tone guarded.

With a heavy sigh, Boggs squeezes his eyes shut before staring at me. "Whatever I say, whatever I tell you until I give you the signal…do. No matter what. You can be damn sure that Coin will be sending spies into our squad, especially since she definitely doesn't trust Odair here."

"What signal? And isn't that what we're supposed to do anyway?" I question, not quite understanding but he's not giving.

"Look, just do it. Anything I say no matter if you hate it or if it's not right. And as for the signal, you'll know." Boggs insists in a hard tone, and there's something in his eyes that's not quite right. Like he's…scared almost.

"Boggs-" I protest, but he cuts me off.

"Katniss please. Promise me. You too Odair." He says, and it's so desperate as if he truly needs us to promise this that I share a heavy look with Finnick and nod eventually.

"We promise." Finnick eventually replies, and Boggs looks part way relieved and part way grimacing.

"Good. Now Gale will probably be released about an hour before we depart because Coin will want to meet with our squad in Command, but you can't do anything about it. Ignore him completely." Boggs orders and I nod in reply even though I'm not happy about it. Though it will definitely be more difficult to be alone and be ourselves with spies undoubtedly in our squad, I think that at least Boggs and Finnick can find a way to cover us even if it's just for a little bit. I need Gale to tell me himself what happened anyway.

The orders do in fact come that we will be departing in two days, but since Gale is in the dungeons (and he's coming with me) and my family and Madge are undoubtedly being influenced by Coin, my goodbyes will not be what they should be. Madge doesn't seem to be under too much influence but since she's very heavily pregnant and due any day now she doesn't seem to do much of anything but sit around anyway so it's not too bad. She tells me good luck and goodbye and that she's sorry for missing Kennie, to which I try to hold back real tears but appear strong. Because even if she's safe I still miss her terribly.

My own family and Gale's are less than ideal since I can't truly tell them much of anything, but I still receive hugs and kisses from all of them and good lucks to which some I return. Prim will be staying here since like Madge she's pregnant and no one needs a pregnant medic in a war zone, but my mother will be coming on. She's not in my squad but she is on Rye's, and promises that she'll be looking out for all of us that she knows regardless. Rory will also be coming as a soldier, and to my surprise he says that he's been switched onto the star squad. I guess it could do with the fact that he's Gale's brother but I idly wonder if Coin will use him as a spy since she's manipulating him anyway. We'd be far less likely to be careful in front of family I'm sure in her mind if she actually suspects us, but I think to be honest it will be the opposite. Maybe Rory being there will be the best thing for us after all. Because if we can deceive Rory then we can definitely deceive everyone else.

After the goodbyes I go to Command early, already donning my Phoenix battle suit that was insisted on by Plutarch for the propos I'm certain they will be doing. I don't really care, but it would be nice if I looked like everyone else for once. It's a lot easier to find me if I'm not dressed the same and getting to Snow to kill him would be fairly easier if I blended in.

And to my utter surprise, I actually do blend in. Well at least with the star squad, as Boggs hands out uniforms that look very similar to mine to everyone else on the squad. I exchange one glance with Gale as he turns his head and while no one else would think anything of it that one small look tells me that he has a lot to tell me but he's alright, and that he's missed me too. But later, later because it has to wait.

"Welcome to the beginning of the end, soldiers." Coin greets us once we're all there. I think that's a bit dramatic but I guess in a way this war sort of is. Or at least for me anyway. "Now as our Star Squad we have a special request for you, which Commander Boggs will inform you of. Commander."

Boggs takes her place and she steps back surveying us while Boggs speaks. "Now soldiers, you are all in this particular squad for two reasons. One, because you are a Victor or a famous face for the propos which Cressida here will be filming." Boggs begins, his gaze lingering and hardening when it comes to me and Finnick; a reminder to do what he says no matter what. Somehow I can already tell I'm not going to like this. "Or two, because President Coin or I have deemed you apt and skilled enough for the special requirements of this squad. And since we are a split group between the two, we have decided that our famous faces have the necessity of extra guarding, which means that all of you who are not one of these have been assigned a Victor to watch over."

…what? I'm a grown woman and a Victor, I don't need a babysitter. I glare at Boggs and I can sense the other 'famous faces' shooting daggers at him as well, but Boggs just glances to me, a fleeting pleading look that apologizes in the millisecond it's there. This is part of the promise I made. It's annoying as hell but I know this has to be one of Coin's little things.

"Essentially these guards will be attached at the hip to you for your own safety." Coin butts in, which basically translates to she doesn't trust any of us; extra guarding my butt.

"Is that really necessary? After all, the Phoenix shouldn't need a bodyguard. It looks bad." I protest, using logic they might actually go with.

"It's vitally necessary, which is why you are all dressed similarly." Coin replies almost coldly and stirs right at me. "After all, we wouldn't want to lose our Phoenix to the ashes, now would we?"

The way she glares at me…it's almost like a warning. Like she's trying to scare me, like she's trying to make me just say something to give in, to give her my secrets. She's trying to break me. And somehow…I don't think she'd mind. Because while it seems like it's for my safety, to me it seems like a threat. Like she's watching me, waiting for me to make a mistake so that she can kill me. Doesn't anyone else hear it? Feel it? But I have to at least seem like I'm not fazed, and in the steadiest voice I can manage I reply.

"No, we wouldn't."

Because the real games have just begun, now haven't they?


	32. Guarded

Finnick's POV

"You know I'd do better by myself. You did see my Games, didn't you?" I smile charmingly at my babysitter…guard, a twenty something year old woman from District 13 named Heliga with an army buzz cut complete with a no nonsense attitude. Also known as the first women I have ever met that is entirely immune to what I guess you could call charm. Ever since we got to the Capitol three days ago I've been thinking endlessly of a way to get her the hell off me. Seriously, I don't think the woman has been more than ten feet from me at any time and it's driving me insane. Charm and flirting haven't worked, logic is obviously a bust, and at this last attempt her return is a stare that you would think would normally be devoid of emotion but I can sense an eyeroll she's holding back.

"I did have the unfortunate circumstance in which I was shown your arena, but the rules of District 13 and specifically this squad are to always stick together. I'm certain your…abilities will not be interfered by my presence, Soldier Odair." she eventually answers, though for the first time I can sense a hint of annoyance in her tone. There's a thought; maybe I can annoy her into letting me be alone.

"I have plenty of abilities, I assure you. Would you like me to demonstrate?" I ask her provocatively, making it clear exactly what I mean even though the very thought makes me gag as much as some of the more horrible Capitol appointments. But I don't ever expect her to take me up on it, the point is to get her so annoyed at my 'charm' and 'seductiveness' that she leaves me alone for her own good. It's worth a shot anyway.

And to her credit, if she's flustered by it then she hides it well. Damn District 13 training. "I'm quite alright Soldier Odair. We have orders to follow so we must get moving."

"You're very right Helly." I sigh at her, making it seem as if I wish we didn't have to go. Which isn't very hard because I don't. Boggs refuses to let Katniss, Gale, or I to do anything at all that is potentially harmful for real and instead we're just props for the cameras. Ridiculous. He sure as hell better give us that stupid signal soon or I'm going to just go off on my own and end this thing myself soon. "Following orders is important; I was just trying to make it more…entertaining."

And she finally cracks a hint of annoyance on her usually devoid of emotion face as I cheer on the inside, hoping that this might actually work. I don't really have anything against this poor woman personally, she just happened to get the unfortunate job of babysitting me. With a tug on my arm to make me move I allow myself a small smirk before it disappears to find Boggs staring at me being tugged into formation by Heliga. His face is stern like a commander should be but his eyes apologize to me, knowing it's still annoying all of us. But he doesn't seem to disprove of my attempts at getting her off me so that's all the approval I need to keep at it and I plan to.

At least I seem to have it better than Katniss and Gale though. Gale has his own brother as a bodyguard, which would probably work in their favor normally but since Rory is being manipulated by Coin and we all know it, it's going to be far more difficult for them to get anywhere. Rory knows both of them ridiculously well and therefore could probably pick up on any funny business far quicker than anyone else, which I'm sure was the intent. Katniss has someone from District 13 that I haven't met before, but assuming that Coin wouldn't just give anyone to guard Katniss, it's likely one of her personal spies, and Katniss is having just as much frustration on the getting away end with him as I am with Heliga.

Oh Boggs, for god's sake please save us fast. These babysitters are really annoying the hell out of us. So much that we may snap which is probably the intent anyway.

No scratch that, I'm sure that is the intent. That and to keep us right where Coin (and probably by association, Snow) wants us. But none of us have ever been that good at following rules, have we? We can figure it out with or without Boggs's sign.

Or at least I can annoy the crap out of my own babysitter to do it myself.

Gale's POV

"Come on Rory, let me just take this shot." I half beg my brother, annoyed all around. For one, I don't need a babysitter in the first place, especially if it happens to be my little brother six years my junior. I mean seriously, since when do I have to take orders from him? Until a few months ago he had no fucking idea what the hell was going on with the Capitol, Snow, or anything. Well, at least to an extent. And now here he is clearly being manipulated somehow by Coin to babysit me. What's not annoying about that.

And two, we being me, Katniss, and Finnick aren't allowed to do basically anything at all. No shooting real targets, not communicating with each other without our 'guards' around, no nothing. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Rory but he's driving me insane. I can't even look at Katniss because he'll figure out that I actually do in fact remember and still love my own wife and by proxy, our daughter who happens to not be kidnapped, just missing with the not so dead Johanna. The kid won't leave me alone and I can't do anything at all.

And three, while I was happy to come to the Capitol and get out of that damn cell they threw me in for days before we left for here, I thought that I'd at least be doing something productive. I think I did a pretty good job of making Coin believe that I was only trying to figure out my own personal problems and not in fact spying on her, but you never know. When Boggs came to me and told me that there weren't any cameras in there (I'm assuming the reason that Beetee hadn't sent anyone to find me and possibly get me out), he told me the plan. He apologized for his part in my 'capture' which he assured me was the only way to show Coin that he really was on her side (he thought that she might be on to him) and I forgave him for that since I'm basically doing everything I can to play my own part. It sucks ass and it's starting to drive me insane but I'm still playing the dumb stupid forgetful guy so that we can double cross those who need to be taken down.

But that of course requires me doing anything productive at all. Which of course Rory believes is still not happening.

"Sorry Soldier Hawthorne, but I can't allow that." He reminds me and I glare at him.

"Don't give me that crap Rory." I roll my eyes, unbelieving that he's doing this soldier stuff.

"Sorry Gale, but you know I can't." he apologizes as a whisper so that Boggs can't hear him, clearly believing that Boggs actually gives a shit about him calling his own brother (or really anyone for that matter) by their first name and not soldier.

"I can't believe I'm even asking. You're not the boss of me." I mutter under my breath but unfortunately he hears me.

"Hey, they made me your guard for your safety." He takes my wrist and turns me towards him, the rest of the group leaving us behind unknowingly as they go towards the street for yet another propo where there will be shots of us just for the hell of it. To show people that we're 'fighting' for the cause.

"I don't need a babysitter, especially if it's in the form of my baby brother." I tell him and he roughly drops my arm and crosses his arms over his chest, clearly annoyed with me.

"I'm not a baby Gale and I can damn well be a soldier. Better one than you too." He replies and I sigh.

"I know you can be a soldier and I know you're not a baby." I inform him, because I always knew he could and it's the truth. But he's always been one to do against what I wanted just to prove he's his own man. We have far more money than we know what to do with and yet he goes and works in the mines. He apparently refused to tell me when he said his goodbyes for the second Games that Nelia had told him about the rebellion. And now he loves that he is the one that Coin 'trusts' more than me. 'But I still don't need a 'guard' for my own safety. I did survive two Hunger Games you know."

"All the more reason." Rory claims and I sigh. "And do you even remember why you were in the second one?" he tests me, and I know I have to play dumb but not too much. Maybe sarcasm will work best.

"Because the arena was for Victors and kids since there wasn't a Victor in the year before." I exclaim and then roll my eyes for effect, "But as you would tell me, 'because I went in to protect my daughter and didn't plan on surviving.' Is that right?"

"Sarcasm isn't the way you're going to get anything." He snorts at me and points toward the group, right at Katniss who seems just as annoyed with her own babysitter as I am though I'd guess she has it worse. No doubt that guy is a personal lackey of Coin's and he's not likely to cave to anything at all. Love the girl to death but her acting skills still suck. Honestly I'm surprised that someone hasn't just called her out on it yet. "Who's that?"

"Katniss." I answer right away, because at least at this point everyone has pointed her out to me enough that I would know even if I still didn't remember her.

"Last name?" Rory asks me to elaborate and I smile at him, going for a different kind of sarcasm that is actually the truth.

"Her name is Katniss Hawthorne because she's my wife and we have a daughter together who is missing. I love her more than anything and hope to spend the rest of my life happily with her once this stupid war is over and we find our daughter." I declare, and while it's the absolute truth and I realize that this is dangerous territory to say to Rory of all people (probably the very reason they gave me to him as an assignment), I do know him too. I know how I can probably get him to believe I'm just being a jerk about it. And so while his eyes go wide at first and he's studying me like I'm telling the truth, I roll my eyes and laugh hard at his expression to which he huffs in annoyance, luckily buying it.

"This is why you need a babysitter." He mutters before pushing me towards the group and while my back is to him I allow myself a relieved smirk. Well if you say so little brother.

"Why because you think I'm stupid?" I question him without turning around. I'm sure it's still annoying the everliving shit out of our families that I still don't remember Katniss and Kennie. And in a way, I'm annoying the everliving shit out of myself. I'm the one that can't be sad or angry that my daughter is MIA or at least gone for the moment. I'm the one who can't kiss or even show affection much less recognition of the love of my life whenever I want. I'm the one who has to hide from practically everyone that I'm not that forgetful person that the Capitol made me for a while.

"No, because you're being an ass." Rory bites back and I give him a short laugh. Well he's right; he's certainly not a baby anymore. There's no way in hell that he would have called me out so blatantly even two years ago. Guess he really has grown up.

"Maybe I wouldn't be if I could actually do something." I claim in annoyance, not telling him that I'm actually proud of him truly growing up even though it's weird.

"That's not for me to decide. That's Boggs or Coin." He reminds me and as I roll my eyes he hits me in the shoulder. "Hey, we have to follow someone's orders."

I stare at him in surprise before he pushes me along again. Damn, she really does have him manipulated. Normally Rory would be all for going against orders even if I was always more of a rebel, and he sure as hell wouldn't be following Coin.

All the more reason for this damn war to end and take out the real threats.

Snow's POV

File upon file, secrets and contacts and plans. This is what this particular team is for, and yet there has not been such an influx of interesting nor more important information they have provided me with before this war officially began. Because for certain, this war was unofficial for quite some time. Perhaps even so long ago as when the Dark Days came to a close, but it seemed to escalate and deflate over and over for a while until it burst. Or more likely, when a child fell into the ashes and rose again in the arena I placed her in.

And yet this team has no knowledge of the real plans though they provide me with some of the ammunition. I would never allow them to, or at least until they are needed. But sometimes they are…useful. And useful people can always be disposed of.

"Are you certain of this information? The code is correctly broken down?" I question this particularly useful team member, one who has been good at his job. One that has always done what I asked, and now I have given him quite a duty. Break this code and tell me exactly what I need. Something my rather lacking in true deception sister does not have. An intuitive nature of what could really be.

"Oh yes, the code is accurate, of that I am certain. Pulled from the ashes of the Justice Building itself." He tells me with confidence, and I find it such a shame that his part will cost him so much. But information like this cannot be shared by more than is necessary and he's done his part well.

"Very well. You have sent the team to acquire?" I question him, and receive the expected answer.

"Yes sir. The team is in place and ready at your command to do its duty." He claims with a nod and I smile at him.

"Very well. When I give the signal make certain that the necessary is completed in full." I order him and with a wave of my hand to dismiss him he nods and leaves the room, leaving me to enjoy my tea in the knowledge that his life which holds the information that I don't wish for him to have will be ended no sooner than I give the order and it's completed.

To order is such a luxury, something I knew I was born to do from the time I was a small child. Alma and I, we grew up in a time when power was not absolutely certain but my dear parents saw something in me probably before I did. They knew I could do what needed to be done, to make certain that my own power would last as long as I liked it to. To do exactly what I pleased and leave the world how I wished it to be. And yet Alma was jealous, claiming she could do the same.

And so she tried in District 13, the very district in which she was brought to because my parents banished her there. And she's done well not only in hiding her true identity but that of her plans with me. Or at least the ones she believes in. For certain she has plans of her own but as long as she does what I wish first then I will ultimately come out on top, just the way I have planned it. Taking out the necessary people along with it, traitorous or no.

A knock on the door brings me out of my tea musings, and with my permission the head peacekeeper comes in and stands tall.

"Oh good, has she been acquired?" I question him, as he knows very well not to come to me during my tea time unless it's important.

"Yes sir. She's in the hallway bound." He informs me, and with a small smile I nod.

"Very well. Was it very difficult?" I ask and he gives me a strict shake of his head.

"No sir. In fact she came almost willingly."

"Oh? Was it because of the medicine?" I quirk an eyebrow, though I don't know why I'm surprised.

"I don't believe so sir. She appeared to wish to see you." He claims and I nod. Well if she wants to see me I'd very much like to see her too. It will most certainly be an interesting afternoon.

"Very well. Bring her in and release her bindings." I order, and not a minute later she's walking into the room with her head held high, her face blank except for the piercing eyes which have more anger in them than I would have realized. Most certainly an interesting afternoon indeed.

"Well if it isn't the Mrs. Undersee. Or should I say Maysilee Donner."

With a smirk she answers me. "I thought that might catch your attention."


	33. Sacrifice

Maysilee's POV

Almost thirty five years ago now my life changed forever. It sounds a bit dramatic, but it's completely true. Out of thousands of slips, the mere five slips I had in that bowl with my name printed on it because I came from a merchant family and there was no need for tesserae, out of every year for the reaping, I got chosen as one of the tributes for the 50th Hunger Games, more widely known as the second Quarter Quell. The sheer shock from my name being called out and my dear sister and best friend gripping my hands made me freeze in place, but I knew I had to go up on that stage. I knew my life was over.

In this district, the poorest of them all, I had what you could call almost having it all. I had a loving family that owned the sweetshop and a pretty face, friends that were so dear to me that I couldn't imagine my life without them, my best friend and my twin sister in particular. I had the most wonderful boyfriend in the world, and the mayor's son to boot. Almost everything was in my favor…until now.

And once I was marched into my own room for goodbyes (surely the last ones because I even highly doubted my abilities to win this awful thing, especially with double the tributes), I couldn't contain my tears. My parents came first and gave me my district token, a mockingjay pin made of solid gold that was my mother's most prized possession. I told her that it wasn't worth it because I could lose it (or someone could take it during the bloodbath after they offed me if they realized it's worth) but she insisted. My friends came next, and then my boyfriend Griff Undersee who kissed me and held me, in almost as much shock as I was. He was ripped from my arms by the peacekeepers and then my final visitor, my twin sister Marilee came in with a strange determined look on her face.

Without a word she took a look at my pin that mother just gave me and sighed.

"We don't have much time, May. Switch me clothes." She orders, beginning to take off her own dress as I stare at her in disbelief and confusion.

"What?" is all I can get out, and she stops what she's doing and places her hands on my shoulders, staring at me in the eyes.

"You heard me. I'm going in and you're staying here." she claims and I shake my head.

"No, you can't! I was the one reaped, you are not dying for me!" I shriek but she shakes her head and places her hand over my mouth so that anyone that happens to be listening can't hear.

"I'm dying anyway! You know that." she reminds me with a grimace and I'm still shaking my head at her with tears in my eyes. Yes, she is. Somehow she has cancer, our best friend Helena who works at her father's apothecary shop had been watching it for a few months now and told her. Marilee had some sort of tumor, a lump she could feel for months but I told her she was being silly, that it was nothing. But she went to Helena to check and she confirmed that it was cancer, and in tears told her that it would surely kill her within the year with how large it was. There was nothing in her shop that could cure it and even she knew that the Capitol's medicine was extensive, but it was way too expensive and might not work anyway. To save our parents the grief for months, the three of us decided to keep it a secret between us and just spend all the time we could with her until the inevitable happened. Marilee didn't want to burden them with all that pain and attempts at giving away everything just to try to save her, and we reluctantly agreed. But using that as her point is not helping.

"It's still not right." I shake my head at her. "Besides, our parents will know that it's you going and not me. So will Helena and Griff and probably everyone else." I point out.

"Yes they will, but not everyone else." She insists, and I grudgingly know she's probably right. Aside from those four people, almost no one can tell us apart from how identical we look and act most of the time. "And by the time they know it will be too late. I'll already be on my way to the Capitol."

"But…" I protest again, but she cuts me off.

"Please May." she begs me, the desperation in her eyes clear as tears fall for the first time. "I don't want to wait out my life just to get worse and die within the year. Please let me at least give you the life you deserve to have. You can marry Griff, have your own family and be the mayor's wife."

"But…Griff is dating me, not you. Besides what will I even say?" I protest again, but I know that her tears are breaking me. Am I really going to give my twin sister, half of me, her wish to die for me? It sounds sick and yet I know why she wants it. I might have even done the same if our roles were reversed, I love her that much.

"You'll be me. Griff will say that he got so close to you in 'your' absence and when 'you' died I was his greatest comfort and he eventually fell in love with me. As for Helena and our parents all they have to remember is to call you Marilee." She explains and I shake my head but she already knows I'm giving in. With a kiss on my cheek she gives me a sad, relieved smile.

"Thank you." She says heavily, weighted down and yet she seems to feel lighter. Saving me.

And so we changed clothes quickly and I guiltily allowed my sister to stay behind that shut door while the peacekeepers dragged their real tribute out, and stood there crying for some time as I realized just exactly what had happened. My parents were shocked to say the least when I came in instead of Marilee and the whole dirty story came out with tears and heartbreak, but since there was nothing they could do about it they went along with the plan. Helena and Griff went with it too and it went off without a hitch, everyone believing for the past thirty five years that I died. That I am my sister, the fake person I've been since. Marilee Undersee, nee Donner.

And apparently President Snow believed it too, for why wouldn't he believe it? He's not too familiar with sacrifice for the ones you love I'm certain, and therefore I can use this to my own advantage. Because while I've been broken for years from my guilt and pain, taking medicines and allowing myself to wither away into the numbness, that medicine stopped coming once the rebellion truly began. And I was forced to relive and think on everything with a clear head and made my decision. I was going to do all in my power to bring down Snow for what he's done. The Hunger Games should end, my sister should have been able to get the treatment she needed months before and have it work but none of that was possible.

It certainly helped that I had little else to do for months, stuck in District 12 after it was bombed and guarded by peacekeepers for quite a time before they decided to abandon us there. But not before almost beating my poor husband to death and he died from the lack of treatment I had and probably internal bleeding, leaving me with no one and very little to do other than help the rebels and try to live. For what did I really have to live for anymore? I'm sorry to say I hadn't quite been the mother I should have to Madge and I've never personally met any of my grandchildren, but I knew that I could help her by helping the rebellion. Her family could still have a life and I could help her get it.

And so I found in one of the hidden bunkers for rebels a communication device, and began sorting through information and speaking with some of the rebels in the Capitol, but there wasn't much I could do. Or at least not without a personal meeting with Snow, which required me to be with him personally in a room. But what could I do to make that happen? If he even knew or cared that the peacekeepers had abandoned me, he probably presumed me dead anyway. But there was one thing I could do to capture his attention, and I did it. I told the truth, started speaking with the communicator with my real name. And here I am, willingly captured and in his office with Snow and Snow alone.

"And so it did." He smiles at me, and gestures for me to sit. He offers me tea but I decline, aware enough during the years to know at least from my husband and other rebels that he's certainly a fan of poison and I'm not going to be much of a help to anyone dead yet. I at least want to talk first, get something out of him. "Though I do wonder how this is possible." He muses much to my surprise, because I assumed he would at least pretend like he knew why.

"Possible that I'm not a dead tribute like you assumed?" I question him bluntly, beyond caring about being polite despite my upbringing and position in District 12 that demanded it.

"Precisely." He nods, drinking his own tea and waiting for an answer, actually seemingly curious as to know. I'd guess this is a first for him.

"My twin sister Marilee is the tribute you saw in the Quarter Quell." I reveal to him, waiting for his reaction. I attempt to keep my anger composed but I feel like if I explain further I will fail at that matter. Aside from the guilt it's difficult to not feel anger for the man that made it possible in the first place for this to happen.

"Ah, so she took your place and you have paraded as her for years. Or did you ask her to?" he assumes and I almost snap. I most certainly wouldn't have asked her to do that for me, no matter her health. She had to beg me to do it and even then I wasn't sure.

"I would have never asked my own sister to take my place. Never." I almost boil over and his eyebrow quirks, making me frown and explaining in a tense tone. "She begged me to, and not because she wanted to be in your horrible arena. She had cancer and was going to die anyway."

"And so she went in for you." He nods, but I still don't think he understands at all.

"You are not entirely aware of what a true sacrifice is, are you?" I question him and he smiles at me.

"I assure you I am. Every tribute in the Hunger Games is a sacrifice. Sometimes specific people must die for something else to happen or to prevent something else." He tells me but I shake my head at him.

"I meant a sacrifice for love. The kind a mother or father would do for a child. Or a sister would do for her because she wants her to have a real life and love." I exclaim, adding in the first example because I realize it's the one he will recognize the most. The thorn in his side known as the Phoenix was going to be saved by her own father in the horrible twist of the last Games, and he knows it. Not for the rebellion but for love.

"Sacrifice for love, you say?" he questions me as if he doesn't understand, but I think he might.

"Yes. That seems to be your problem now, isn't it?" I question him, dancing around the subject. I want to see exactly how angry he is at Makenna Hawthorne being missing, because I know where she is thanks to my communications. Another sacrifice for love.

"What do you know of this, Mrs. Undersee?"

"I know that you realize that Makenna Hawthorne is loved and she would have been saved for it." I answer him and he smirks.

"Miss Hawthorne was going to be saved because she was desired for the rebellion." He replies, and he believes it.

"Gale Hawthorne had no knowledge of the rebellion, I know that much. He was going to save his daughter because he loved her more than his own life. I would do the same for my daughter, and I would have saved Marilee if our situations were reversed." I reiterate, and he plays with his tea cup before replying.

"And yet sacrifices for love don't always go as planned, do they Mrs. Undersee?" he asks me, and I give him a confused expression.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." I answer frankly, not knowing where he's going with this.

"You allowed your sister to sacrifice for you and yet you did not live a happily ever after did you? Your medical records would attest to that." He says, and while I'm not certain how he came about that information I'm not entirely surprised he's using it against me. It's his thing apparently.

"Are you telling me I shouldn't have grieved my sister? Not felt guilty for her dying in my place?"

"Or how about Mr. Hawthorne's attempt to save his daughter landing him in a Capitol prison to be tortured for information and away from his family, hmm? Was that the plan?" he goes on, ignoring my answer. I'm not shocked to hear that he placed Gale in a prison for torture but I am that he's telling me this. Though I doubt he would reveal that if he didn't have plans for me. Luckily I'm getting all I need for those who are listening to this information through my camera on my necklace and if I die for this there's not much I'd leave behind. My daughter has been without me for years and Griff has already passed. If I can do this much than I will be at peace with leaving this world.

"Or how about…a kidnapping gone wrong. Or right in their case." He goes on when I don't respond, but I do know.

"A kidnapping gone right?" I question them, knowing in my heart that he's referring to Makenna. I never knew why exactly she was with Johanna Mason in the destroyed District 7 but I knew they left her there for her own safety. Perhaps they 'kidnapped' her themselves? It's possible.

"Yes, gone right. A sacrifice for love as you say." He nods with a smile, pressing a button on his computer screen and I hear whispers and the crunching of leaves though I'm more confused than ever. "But you see, Maysilee, even sacrifices of love can be conquered and made right."

I grimace with a panic as a few seconds later I hear screams and gunshots from his computer screen, more confused than ever but I know this cannot be good. Not at all.

"I believe this was a very…informative chat we've had, don't you?" he smiles at me and motions for the peacekeepers to come in and they take my hands, waiting for an order to kill me most likely since I did not drink his most likely poisoned tea. "Please escort our guests to her new quarters. I sense that she may be of good use come soon."

And as they lead me away I have a strong sense that whatever he's keeping me alive for cannot be good for anyone but himself.

Katniss's POV

"Really?" I give a hopeful smile to Boggs for the first time since coming to the Capitol as a sham soldier, because I've honestly done nothing worth being on a real squad since we came. All for show or the propos, and this stupid 'guard' I have who's probably a personal manipulated spy for Coin (because I haven't exactly done a great job of attempting to act like I'm all for whatever she wants to do because I've acted the exact opposite on pretty much everything) won't leave me alone for a minute. I thought it would be better with Boggs being the commander despite his order to do whatever he says, but it's really not. But though I'm pretty sure this isn't his signal to stop listening to him, it's still good news to me.

"Yep. Apparently Plutarch feels like it doesn't look realistic enough so he sent the orders. You get the honor." Boggs holds a grin back behind a sigh and I know he wants to wink at me. He knows it's been driving us all nuts that we're not real soldiers here and I finally get to do something real. I get to fire off a real pod, not some fake one. We're going on a real mission and the war is almost over.

"That's because it's not real." I mutter as I walk away, but still feeling content aside from the thorn in my side who calls himself my guard. Seriously, if I could get through a Hunger Games with little more than a knife and a bow for some time, I think I can handle the Capitol with two guns and a militarized bow along with some body armor.

But aside from him and all the other problems here including a propo crew and not being allowed to so much as look at Gale let alone do anything as almost innocent as kissing him or just holding hands, with this last piece of news I'm feeling pretty good. This war is going well after all.

So with my decent mood I get in the long line to get the slop they call dinner here and start taking my tray over to the table, but I'm confused to find that no one is really sitting down and eating, the abandoned trays on the table. They're all over by the screen which is showing what the Capitol is playing on the television, usually ignored except for when they're talking about the war or Snow makes some stupid announcement that's always a lie. But it must be big if everyone's over there, so I go over with my shadow in tow and stand next to Finnick and his 'guard' who seems annoyed at something. And something tells me it's Finnick by the slight smirk on his face.

"What's going on?" I ask, catching Gale's eye as I look in their direction behind them and he gives me a quick sad smile that Rory misses, his own guard. It's dangerous for him to do but I can't seem to mind right now.

"Snow's coming on with Ceaser. Got some big announcement." Finnick shrugs at me. Well I guess that is important, but I don't really know what it could be. Surely something stupid like he's got a plan to win the war or something.

"I heard that it's something that he saved just for the Capitol." His guard adds in.

"What? Nuclear weapons or he's got a new load of mutts to attack us with?" I guess sarcastically. I already know about the nuclear weapons but he wouldn't be stupid enough to do that, especially since that's the whole reason that District 13 survived the Dark Days with their own threat. The whole of Panem would crash and burn from them nuking each other and somehow I think even these silly Capitolites would realize that that is not saving them.

"Don't know." She shrugs, and Snow comes on the television waving but the screen is far back, and he's with someone.

"Who is that?" someone asks, because we can't really tell from this angle but the crowd is going wild.

I'm about to say I don't know and then the screen zooms in and I hear a pained and panicked scream, vaguely recognizing that it's me.


	34. Sorries

Gale's POV

As I hear Katniss's scream in disbelief and panic, I can't say I don't feel the exact same. But there's shock there too, and suspicion along with it. But the only difference is though I'd very much love to scream or at least rip out that television and smash it to pieces along with Snow, Coin, and a few other choice people, I can't. I can't because Rory is staring not only at the screen but at me for my reaction, looking for any indication of what I'm really feeling. It's a testament to my acting skills that I keep my breathing calm though my heart is racing and mold my face into an indifferent mask. Maybe the shock is helping, but in my mind all I can do is repeat one thing over and over, like a sickening chant that will let it sink in and tell me what this means.

Why is my daughter on that stage with Snow?

As Katniss continues screaming and crying in a panic every nerve in my body is urging me to go hold her, comfort her even though I need it too, but I can't. I glance over to see that Finnick is doing what he can for her even though I can tell it's not working too well, and Boggs comes over with a nurse who gives her something and she seems to instantly came down a little. I don't know what it is but she's definitely quieter now, and all I can hope is that she'll be alright until Boggs gives us whatever signal it is to stop pretending already. Because what's the point anymore?

The crowd of soldiers continues watching Caesar's interview with Kennie and I do the same, feigning just mild curiosity as I really silently watch her and Snow like a hawk, trying desperately to think of how this could have happened. Did someone rat us out? It's possible, but I actually trust those who knew about it so I doubt it. Maybe someone heard or saw us? No probably not or they would have taken her way before now. Or had they already and Snow's just been hiding her until now? I don't think so from what Boggs has told me, but you never know.

But the more pressing revelation is also the worst. No matter how Snow found out, he did and Makenna is now on that stage and not safe in District 7 with Johanna. And I know that Johanna isn't all that big on kids, but she would never just hand Kennie over to Snow, Coin, or anyone without a fight.

And if they succeeded in kidnapping Kennie from her grasp, it also means that Johanna Mason died in the process.

Finnick's POV

What have I done?

I know it seems ridiculous to ask after everything, but as I keep my eyes fixed on the screen that I'm not really looking at that's all I can think. And maybe it's not really my fault; maybe this was bound to happen anyway. But all I can think is that I basically suggested that plan just for my best friend to die.

I know Johanna like no one else. She keeps herself guarded, but I can get through her usually. And while I know she's strong, stronger than anyone should be in her position, she's also weak in a way much like I am. I would die for Annie and our child, I would have died for Makenna in the Games had the rebellion not gone as planned. Hell, maybe it would have been better than being captured by the Capitol just to be tortured, but that's the way it happened. And I know Johanna would have done the same as me.

Which means that I know that if I was the one in District 7 with Kennie, I know what I would have done. There is no possible way that I would have allowed anyone to so much as touch her without a fight. I gave Jo a gun for that purpose, but if they sent too many, if they took them by surprise…well, there's not much you can do about it. Oh sure you can give a valiant effort, but let's face it; if there's an entire squad of peacekeepers on you and all you have is two axes and a pistol the odds are definitely not in your favor. And like hell I would have just handed over Makenna to save my own ass when it more likely than not would have just ended me here in the Capitol, once again in a prison. No, I would not have given Snow that satisfaction. I would have died before that. Trying to win.

And yet…I can't get over the guilt that this was my fault. That I sent Jo there in the first place. That I came up with a plan to get Kennie there. That even though we delayed this very outcome, it happened anyway with unnecessary death.

"Time to move out, soldiers." Boggs's voice cuts through my guilt and shame, and as soon as I realize exactly what he's indicating I snap out of it enough to glare at him, feeling the shadow of undoubtedly my babysitter and others around me where I'm still trying to hold Katniss together so she doesn't fall off the deep end no matter whatever calming stuff they gave her.

"What? You can't be serious." I spit at him, angered by his indifference to the situation. Why hasn't he done anything yet to help us?

"I'm aware of the situation Soldier Odair, but time is of the essence. I've received word that President Coin will be doing a counter statement to this and we need to be on the move. It's what's best for the situation, I promise." Boggs tells me, a straight and commanding voice and yet…there's something else there. A hint of hidden begging to make me get up, and suddenly I have an inkling of hope. Is this where he's going to set us free and we can finally stop pretending already? God I hope so.

"Fine." I huff, and get Katniss off the ground but she doesn't seem to want to move. I'm trying to think of a way to get her moving without Boggs doing anything further, but the guilt and sadness is overwhelming and I can't seem to think past it at the moment, being sucked into it once again. But to my surprise, it's Rory who comes over to help, Gale standing a few steps behind him and very much looking like he could do something about it while at the same time worried and angry.

"Katniss?" Rory begins, a softer tone than I've heard from him since he started training here. Well, to anyone but Prim that is. She looks to him, but doesn't seem to be registering anything really, a haze enveloping her. "Come on, we have to go get Kennie."

"But she's…with him." Eventually comes out of Katniss's mouth, and I think she's going to go into that state again like she was after her house exploded because of the explosives Snow planted in her home apparently, but Rory apparently seems to know this too and goes for a different strategy.

"Yes, she is." He says rather harshly. Not the way I would go, but I guess he knows better than I do. He was actually there last time. "And unless you get up now and do something about it she's going to stay with Snow. Or is that what you want? To stay here and let Snow do anything he wants with her."

"No, but…"

"He could do anything, Katniss. Change her and make her like a Capitol citizen. Put her into the next Hunger Games. Or maybe he'll just plan an elaborate death for her and-"

"No!" Katniss shrieks, standing up and her eyes are fierce, hard, and anger is boiling over in her. Damn, didn't see that coming so fast.

"Well then let's go!" Rory replies, half pushing her towards her tent to get dressed. I glance to Gale and see that he's actually pretty impressed with his younger brother, and in Rory's success in removing the problem that could have arised with Katniss he momentarily forgets his post as Gale's body guard and strangely so does mine, leaving us behind as everyone rushes to their tents to change into armor and I find this is probably my one real chance to console him, since it's evident that his acting skills are good enough that no one is bothering to.

"I'm sorry Gale. We're going to get her back." I squeeze his shoulder supportively as I whisper. Even here seemingly alone we have to be careful. He squeezes his eyes shut and let's out a pained sigh, but turns his head to me with sympathy in his eyes.

"I'm sorry too. I…never would have asked her to do that." He says quietly, and I'm a bit surprised he knows exactly what I do, but then again maybe it's not so shocking. Despite him not knowing about the break out or really the rebellion, he has known Johanna for a while now and can guess exactly what I have from Makenna being here and not in District 7. It makes me feel a little better knowing that he's feeling guilty for her too though that seems selfish somehow.

"I know you wouldn't have. But that's Jo for you." I nod, turning quickly so that no one catches us talking but really I just don't want him to see how much agony I have for this situation, the guilt eating me alive.

But there's nothing left to do but make it worth it, so I go to my tent and change, knowing that at least for now I can't let this affect me other than motivation to move on. Because we still have a job to do, and her death will not be in vain, I can tell you that now.

Maysilee's POV

"Here." the gruff voice of one of the peacekeepers guarding me (or more likely making sure that I do not disappear) breaks the silence of this enchantingly decorated room which has become my jail cell, a tray of my meager meal upon it set on the ground and shoved further in before the door closes again. With a sigh I go and take the tasteless edibles, knowing that as long as I have a job here and I'm not dead I have to keep my strength up.

To say I was surprised by where I was taken after my practically pointless meeting with Snow would be an understatement. I for certain believed I was going to die and if that was not the case, be taken to a Capitol prison and left for dead or worse. But to come to the Presidential Mansion and taken to what I'm assuming was a bedroom of a former resident, most likely a little girl confused me further. I had gone pale with worry when I heard the screams of Makenna Hawthorne and the gunshots, believing she was dead. I knew it was more than I had expected to get for my contact when they had asked me to record my meeting with Snow which was more of just a way for me to get it off my chest than anything that he was a horrible person, and I could only hope that they could use it to their advantage while I grieved for the child I presumed dead.

And then when I was left alone in that room all night and fell into a restless slumber, I was woken up to banging on the door before it opened, and much to my surprise President Snow was at the door and behind him a group of peacekeepers who appeared to look rugged, as if they had not slept in a while. One of them was holding someone, and as I peered past Snow I was shocked to find the person in their arms was Makenna, the soft rise and fall of her chest indicating that she was alive. Alive and sleeping, or maybe in a forced sleep. Before I could even formulate what was going on, Snow walked into the room and motioned for the peacekeeper with Makenna to follow, stopping in front of me with the other peacekeepers aiming their weapons at me if I so chose to even try to assassinate the President. With what I don't know what they believed I could even attempt that feat with, but I ignored it all the same, my gaze switching between Makenna and Snow until he finally broke the silence.

"We have a very important job for you, Mrs. Undersee." He claims in a sickly sweet tone, and yet the malice behind it is distinguishable. But it's not just that…there's also…triumph there. As in he knows that he just drew the royal flush of the game of this war by having that little girl in his possession, and in a way I know that too. When I don't answer, he goes on, the peacekeeper putting a waking Makenna down and I idly wonder if he planned it out perfectly for her to wake now. As if she was put on something and it has an expiration now, because it's too perfect.

"Where am I?" a sleepy Makenna asks aloud. "Johanna?"

"Johanna's not here." President Snow answers her, and she freezes and her eyes go wide open as she starts to panic at the mention of her last caretaker, and I wonder where exactly Johanna Mason is. In a prison like mine or worse? Or could she have been the victim of those gunshots Snow had me hear yesterday? By Makenna's reaction the latter seems the more likely and I can't help myself as I rush over to her and take her in my arms without permission, shushing her as she cries.

"Dear Makenna, Mrs. Undersee here will be taking care of you now." He says in a calming tone that only makes me tense. "Do you know her?"

Makenna nods and turns out of my arms, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Why am I here?"

With a smile Snow places a hand on her cheek that makes me cringe to see it and I want to smack it away, but I resist the urge. Somehow I feel like it won't be helpful but if my job is to take care of her then I can set her straight in a way that she can handle. I may not be the best mother but I can certainly do my best for a little girl caught in the middle of a war like a pawn.

"Dear girl, you are here because we have saved you from harm. I'm going to make sure that you have only the best." Snow tries to comfort her, but she doesn't believe him.

"You're wrong! I was okay where I was." She shakes her head at him and he sighs.

"Miss Hawthorne, I promise that you will be better than okay here, but that means that you have to do one thing." Snow tries, taking a more authoritative stance since his horrible efforts to be sweet have undoubtedly failed. Looking up at him, she waits for him to continue while she still sniffles back tears. "All you have to do is be happy here. I have toys and games and people to teach you things."

"Why?" she questions him, and I am certainly asking the same thing in my head. What point does Snow have for all he wants her to be is happy? To trick Panem into believing that she wants to be with him? It seems highly unlikely that anyone would believe that considering he allowed her to be in an arena less than a year ago and the fact that her parents are on the opposing side though they apparently aren't on good terms right now. In fact, I hear that Gale was changed somehow in the Capitol and he's pining for another girl. And that is something I would only believe if Snow had a hand in that himself, and therefore it can't be really true even if he's been manipulated that way. Surely everyone can see this, even those who have not met them personally.

"Because I only want you to be happy. Is that so bad?" he smiles at her, and I know he has something up his sleeves but I can't figure out what.

And to this day, a few days later, I still cannot figure out what Snow's plan is. True to his word Makenna has received all he told her she would and more, and despite being sad over whatever happened to Johanna (she refuses to talk about it and since I guess she's not ready to do anything except cry, I don't push it) and missing her parents, she seems to be doing alright. She even has new dresses and outfits every day from a designer, though she did point out to this lady that she's not Cinna and he's better to which I smiled at.

The worst is when the peacekeepers come a few times a day and take her from my care as well as the peacekeepers (in disguise) that never leave the rooms, most likely to ensure that I do not tell her anything to make her go against Snow or to 'tell her lies' as they would put it. But they don't really interfere with anything and so I choose to ignore them much of the time. I worry about her when she's gone and I'm stuck in here but since she tells me exactly what she did in detail every time she comes back, I can see there's really no harm being done to her.

Which is exactly what confuses me the most. Since I don't honestly believe that all Snow desires is for her to be happy, I half expected him to harm her, threaten her, do anything bad to her at some point but he's given me nothing to work with. Nothing at all. It's frustrating, especially since I have little to do while Makenna is gone besides think.

But luckily she comes back not more than ten minutes later, excitedly telling me about her interview with Caeser and going to get ice cream afterwards while Snow sits down smiling at her. When she goes with her designer to change into play clothes I decide that I need to find answers on my own.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your motive here?" I question aloud, and Snow seems surprised that I'm asking him but doesn't let it show in his answer.

"Surely you can see. I only want her to be happy and successful."

"I don't believe you." I shake my head and he only smiles much to my frustration.

"And I'm sure you have your reasons, but I assure you she's doing just fine." He states and gets up to leave. But I can't resist making a threat before he does and it comes out of my mouth really without my permission.

"She'd do better with her parents. They will come to get her and expose whatever it is your real plan is." I warn him to which he only turns to me with a hopeful smile much to my confusion.

"Oh Mrs. Undersee, I certainly hope they do." He replies, and closes the door.


	35. Brainwashed

Katniss's POV

I should be happy; we're finally doing something real in this war, not just being props for some stupid videos. Even my babysitter seems to be laying off me a little more, but I have a feeling it has a lot more to do with the fact that all I can think about is Makenna in Snow's grasp and how I'm going to get her more than the fact that he trusts me. In fact, all that should do is make him trust me less because there's no telling what I would or would not do if I can come up with something to save her.

But really at the moment, I'm just going through the motions. We've been meticulously going through the streets with the camera crew following us but even that seems to not register in my mind. Passing through streets in a new theory in which we send a car through first to activate pods and then go through seems to have been working and we've gone a few blocks, but Gale seems to be better at focusing on this more than I am at the moment because he frowns after the fourth street and turns to Boggs.

"This can't work forever you know." He claims, watching another squad as they ready the next car to go deactivate pods in this street. "They're going to catch on and activate the pods manually at some point."

In a way, he's probably right. In fact, I don't know why I didn't think of that before. This is a good way to get rid of pods and make progress but the Capitol must know some way to stop this. They have to, that kind of strategy is exactly the kind of thing they would do to stop us from going further without the lack of casualties we've had.

"He's right." Finnick adds as Boggs seems to ignore Gale's theory, more intent on something on the holo in his hands than anything they're saying. He's certainly playing his role of 'uncaring of what the soldiers say Commander of District 13' right now, that's for sure. "I don't know why they've let us go this far to be honest."

"Maybe because they weren't prepared for it. Or they can't do that." Rory points out but both Gale and Finnick roll their eyes at them. They know better, unlike him, and honestly so do I. No matter if they were prepared or not for this strategy, it wouldn't matter to the Capitol or Snow for that matter. They would find a way to stop it even if they didn't have a manual system. It's just the way Gamemakers work…I mean the Capitol forces. Geez, it's so hard to remember this isn't an arena sometimes. Really it kind of is, except any number of people can live past this and it isn't normal to have a hostage that was kidnapped by the President.

"I assure you we're going to be fine going with this strategy for at least a few more blocks. It's Coin's orders to keep with this." Boggs reveals to us in a tone that implies don't question me again, but all that gets him is glares and brooding from the Victors though the District 13 soldiers seem to understand that this is not something to question. Brainwashed idiots.

Gale mutters something under his breath and Finnick rolls his eyes, but neither says anything back to Boggs as the car continues rolling down the pod infested street. And like Boggs insisted, it works fine and four pods are activated on its stroll down Gamemaker Weapons Lane. A different squad than ours, the one that readied the car goes first without harm, and then once they get through the street without any other pods going off the two other squads with ours go after them, Cressida and her assistant Messala following them so that they can get in position for us to walk through. Apparently they left one pod for us to destroy for filming purposes, an honor given to Finnick this time since apparently we're taking turns. But no sooner than they get in the middle of the street, cries of pain can be heard and screams of panic.

It snaps me out of the half daze I've been in even though that really isn't safe for this kind of thing, and my eyes pinpoint on the squad that Cressida is near running and bleeding, bits and pieces of some kind of metal and disturbingly enough what I think might be flesh are splayed all over the street as others freeze in place.

"Still don't believe us?" Finnick turns to the District 13 soldiers and Boggs who are all staring at the scene just like I am. But Finnick doesn't sound cocky or know it all, he just sounds exasperated. Like they really should have listened to us all along and they probably should.

"This could have just been one we missed." Boggs insists, but I roll my eyes this time before Gale or Finnick can protest themselves.

"One in the middle of the street that just mysteriously didn't go off until soldiers were there?" I ask rhetorically, knowing that he could possibly be right but it's not likely.

"They can be faulty. Move on soldiers." Boggs replies much to my frustration. Gosh, when is he going to do this stupid signal already? I'm getting really tired of this whole do whatever he says thing even if I'm right. Does he want to get us killed? Has Coin completely brainwashed him and now we trust her mutt?

But the rest of the squad does exactly what he says, and Cressida decided that there won't be filming here on this street and she'll continue on the next one seeing as a pod has already been activated and she got that footage. Angrily now I follow, but our squad is going a little slower than the rest that have already moved on to the next street and are fixing the car again to go down the next street. When I pass the place where the pod went off and smell the seared flesh and warm blood on the ground and the building I almost gag but force myself to keep going. Our squad is the only one left on the street and we need to keep moving after all.

And then…we aren't alone. Not by a long shot.

Mutts seem to come out of nowhere from in front of us, pushing us backwards, back to where we were. At least thirty lizard mutts with sharp teeth and hissing for blood, desperate to kill. Hissing our names in delight as they push their prey backwards.

"Do you believe us now!" Gale screams as shots start going off, members of the squad beginning to fight off the mutts with guns as Gale shoots one with an explosive arrow, the entire squad trying not to panic.

"I'm going in. Heliga, Gus, you're with me." Boggs ignores Gale, fiddling with the holo.

"What? What about-" Heliga starts protesting, still shooting in vain at the mutts while they keep coming forward.

But Boggs ignores her, and speaks into the holo, "Transfer control over to Soldier Gale Hawthorne." He says into the thing before tossing it to a shocked Gale. "Say your name into it." Boggs orders him but Gale can't seem to do anything but stare at him. "Come on son, we don't have time for this." He insists to him with a huff.

"What are you doing?" the District 13 soldiers protest at him, unbelieving of what is going on as Finnick and I smile in relief which much look pretty strange considering we're currently being attacked by mutts.

"Hawthorne!" Boggs yells at him, butting off one of the mutts with the butt of his gun that came too close. Gale complies finally and Boggs nods at him. "Go, the lot of you."

"Thank you." I whisper to him as I pass though I don't think he hears me, taking Gale's hand in mine as we race around the mutts that are occupied with the other soldiers and heading for the next street to move on with our real mission as Finnick follows close behind us. Luckily the rest of the squad is either too busy fighting off mutts or dumbfounded by Boggs's actions, but no one else follows us.

Finally doing something right in this war.

Gale's POV

"Are they following us?" I shout to Finnick as we race towards the next street, turning instead of going straight forward because that's undoubtedly where the rest of the squads are that were in front of us if they haven't been killed by the manually (or not) activated pods yet. I don't think he really knows whether I'm talking about the mutts or the rest of the squad or anything else for that matter, but as he stops running and catches his breath leaning against a wall I guess it doesn't matter.

"Nope. We're alone." Finnick states confidently through heavy breathing, and I find myself catching my breath as well but feeling pretty damn satisfied. I wasn't sure after the last fifteen minutes if Boggs was really ever going to give us a stupid signal to do what we really needed to do here in the Capitol, but he came through alright. With a holo that I control and everything.

In relief Katniss comes to me and rests her head on my chest while her arms come around my waist in a sort of tight hug and as my arms come around her and I kiss her hair quickly once I realize another thing that Boggs gave us. He finally allowed us to not pretend anymore, not that it would matter with only Finnick here with us. But at least there isn't anyone to hide it from anymore.

"Gale!" I hear my name from around the corner of the ally, and I think I spoke too soon. But before Katniss can even get out of my arms our follower has found us and looking at the three of us in complete dumbfoundedness.

"What the hell was that?" He asks and then finally catches Katniss next to me. "And why are you two acting normal?"

"Go away Rory." I order him even though I really don't expect him to listen, and of course he doesn't.

"No way in hell I'm going back there." He shakes his head at us, joining us in the allie. Well I guess I don't really blame him; I wouldn't want to go back to those lizard mutts either. "And I think you owe me some answers. Starting with this." He demands, pointing an accusing finger at our entwined hands. Well I guess there's really no point in hiding this from Rory anymore; he caught us practically redhanded anyway and I don't really see much of a difference it could make at the moment.

"I've been fine for a while. Ever since District 1 when I got a concussion." I reveal to him and he gives us a confused look.

"And you didn't tell us?! Why?" Rory argues back exasperated, but before any of us can answer he points to the holo clutched under my arm. "And Boggs knew?"

"We'll tell you later Rory, but we have to move now." Katniss replies with a note of finality, trying to avoid this conversation that is bound to be difficult for later. "Are you with us or not?"

Rory huffs in frustration but takes a gun out from his holster so he has a hand gun for protection instead of the large one strapped to his back. "I guess I'm with you then." He declares, but he still seems pretty pissed at us and probably Boggs for that matter. But he is my brother and I trust him enough. Even if he's still under Coin's manipulation he really doesn't have a way to rat us out at the moment anyway.

And with a nod of my head at his alligence, I take the holo out and explore it a little. I don't really know all of what I'm doing with it but Beetee taught me the basics of it back in 13 one day when he knew that I would probably be going to the Capitol so I know how to at least look and read the map. And that gets me thinking…did he know Boggs's plan all along that he was going to give me the holo? Probably, there was really no other reason for him to teach me it if all I was going to be was a soldier or going off alone with Katniss and Finnick with nothing but our weapons. Wish he had told me then.

"Where should we go first?" Finnick asks me as I look around the holo. There are way too many pods for my liking on this thing and I'd guess there's more that weren't on here yet when the thing was updated. We don't have disguises so we can't just go walking through the streets, and we really don't want anyone including the squads to recognize us. Stealing a car or something sounds like a ridiculously stupid idea too even if it could deactivate pods along the way. And so that seems to really only leave one potential option.

"Underground." I declare as I look for the best way to get there. Frowns meet my eyes once I look up and I match it with my own grimace. It's not exactly my first choice, especially since probably one of the things I hated most about District 13 was that I was constantly underground unless I was in training or the few times I hunted in the forest with trackers on my ankle with Makenna and Dad, but we really don't have much of a choice on the matter at the moment. Besides, going underground here will practically lead us to the doors of the President's Mansion where I'm certain Snow's keeping Kennie.

And with grimaced nods in agreement, the four of us find the closest entrance to the underground passages of the Capitol and as I climb down the cold metal ladder I pray that this isn't the last time I see the sun.

Penny's POV

"Did you really think that you could keep me manipulated forever?" I question my Aunt Alma who is pacing behind her desk, watching me. I don't really find that necessary since she's got me tied up to a chair and I'm not exactly going anywhere, but I'm pleased she's pissed off at me actually. What, did your plans not go exactly as you liked for once? Are you finally realizing how stupid it was to try to involve me in this?

"Not forever." She finally replies, and sits down in her chair and starts typing away.

"But long enough for you to use me in your plans to get certain people out of the way?" I counter back just because I know it's probably true. After all, it would have been in her best interest for me to be a silly shallow Capitol teenager long enough for her to make me obsessed with Gale and think that I had every right to marry him for her own plans. Brainwash me into her control.

"Don't assume things you don't understand, Penelope." She replies without looking up and I raise an eyebrow at her in surprise. I think this might be the first time she's actually called me by my real name since I've been here.

"Yes dear, you must do what you're told. Haven't I always told you that?" a voice comes from seemingly nowhere and I freeze. Because I know that voice well. Despise it, actually.

With a ghost of a smile on my aunt's face, she turns the computer screen and there is Snow, smiling at me with his disgustingly puffy lips and a glint in his eye. And I know what that glint means even if Alma doesn't; he knows he's winning.

"What do you want?" I spit at him, not bothering to play the charmingly loving granddaughter anymore. I know he's a bad man and he knows that I hate him after all. Not like he can do much to me from over one thousand miles away regardless.

"Is that any way to talk to your grandfather, Penelope? Honestly, I thought your parents taught you manners." He speaks back to me, faking hurt. I ignore that first comment and glare at him.

"They did. But then you went and killed my father so apparently my manners died with him." I argue back, not quite keeping the pain out of my angry tone.

"You're father's fine." Snow insists, but I shake my head at him. He's lying, there's no way. It's just a trick of his like everything else.

"You're lying."

"I'm not." He replies, and strangely enough he seems to be telling the truth. But…

And then on the screen he waves someone forward and much to my confusion three shadows come into view, two on either side of someone they seem to be dragging. And then…I gasp. Because this cannot be real. He's dead. Snow said he was dead. I went to his funeral for Panem's sake.

But there he is, head limped forward and being kept standing by two peacekeepers, but it's him. And there's shallow breathing. I make some sort of involuntary noise but mutter under my breath the sweet word.

"Dad."

And then Snow waves them away and the peacekeepers drag him off the screen as I still look in the direction of where they took him in shock. He's alive. Snow lied. He's alive.

"So you see, Penelope, I did not in fact kill my son-in-law as I told you earlier." Snow smiles at me and I finally snap out of it, looking back to him. But…"But that doesn't mean that I still cannot or will not do it. He does deserve it after all."

"What do you want?" I question him exasperated and desperate, knowing that he's only doing this because he wants me to do something.

"Do exactly as I say and I promise that your father will be spared. But no complaining and you better make it believable, understand?" Snow orders me and I stare off onto the walls of his office as I contemplate. He's got me in a bind, and I know it. He knows it. Alma knows it. They don't need to brainwash me because they know I will never be the death of my father, the person I love most in this world. And so despite everything I believe, despite the gut feeling screaming at me to tell them to fuck off, I swallow my pride.

"I'll do it."


	36. Recognize

Katniss's POV

"This seems as good a place to stop as any." Finnick proposes, pointing towards an old storage room with all kinds of dusty and unused equipment, computers, and a few things I can't tell what they are. We'd been walking under the Capitol for hours in the hallways when we realized that avoxes were still using them and hid quickly before two of them saw us, deciding then that we needed a safer way to travel.

And so we look down and find pipelines, Gale going first and saying that it was pretty disgusting and filled with some undistinguishable liquid that he thought might be sewer water, but it wasn't harmful and who would come looking for anyone down here? And so that was good enough for us and we've been down in this dank, barely lit sewer about eight feet across and six feet high, everyone besides me having to duck their heads and crouching over uncomfortably as Gale takes the lead with his holo and the rest of us follow for some unknown amount of time.

"It's not on the holo." Gale comments, though I honestly don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Maybe if it's not then no one else will find us either if they're using a holo, or maybe it won't make any difference at all.

"And the pipes were?" Rory questions him, eyebrow raised. Now that's something I didn't think about. Was Gale just leading us around the pipes and pretending that he was following the holo? It sounds unlike him but Rory's got a point. What use would the pipes be on a map?

"No, I was following the rooms on the holo for where we were in the pipes." Gale assures him. "As long as we were going the right direction I didn't see what difference it could make."

"How far away are we from the mansion?" I ask, trying not to sound too desperate. It's not so much that I'm exhausted and just want this to be over as it is that I'm still worried sick for Kennie. She didn't seem to look like she was being treated badly but this is the Capitol and they do have things like body polishes and make up to cover any physical harm. And even though it probably wouldn't be in Snow's best interest to harm her, I really wouldn't put it past him. We still don't know really what Snow wants her for or why Coin would want him to have her after all; it really could be anything, and somehow I don't see blackmail for Gale working. If Penny refuses to do anything then it won't happen anyway. And if she's been manipulated we already know that she comes back from it and she'll ruin any plans they have for this sham wedding that is apparently just rumors flying. Honestly, I really don't see how they plan to pull it off or a real reason for it.

"Still a good day's walk if we were going through the actual halls, which means probably longer." Gale informs me with a knowing frown, of course realizing the actual reason that I asked. Not really a surprise, I'm certain he feels the same.

"Wish there was somewhere we could stop and get disguises or something." Rory wishes allowed, muttering as he moves some of the old equipment around so that three of us have enough room to try and get some rest while the other guards. "Then we could just walk right in the streets."

"We could just go into someone's apartment and get stuff. I've seen paths on this thing that just go right into people's apartments." Gale offers, and though it's probably not the best plan and that very well may involve some killing if someone happened to be in said apartment, it's something. Certainly better than being in here for another day or more.

"No, we're too recognizable." Finnick points out, "Even with makeup and Capitol clothes it wouldn't be difficult to know it was one of the three of us, and Rory looks enough like Gale that people would just assume it was him. They'd either shoot us on the spot or we'd draw attention to ourselves and get caught."

"Well we will have to do something eventually. We don't have any food." Gale reminds him, as if that was necessary. My stomach's been growling for the past several hours and hunger set it a long time ago. It's not like I haven't dealt with it before growing up in the Seam but it's certainly been a while. Something you take for granted being a Victor or part of a Victor's family I guess; I doubt Posy really remembers ever being hungry, she was so young when Gale won.

Nods and grumbles meet his statement, but no one really has a solution; both he and Finnick are right after all. Finnick decides to take the first guard shift and as Gale, Rory and I settle on the floor as comfortably as we can Finn spins from his position at the doorway and turns to us.

"Can I see that." He asks immediately, pointing towards the holo lying next to Gale on the side I'm not on. With a curious look, Gale picks it up and hands it to him and we stare at Finnick as he flicks through the thing frantically and presses some things on it. It starts making noises and he curses under his breath but keeps going.

"What are you doing?" Rory questions him with a yawn, waking up from his daze where he looked to be almost asleep.

"Hold on." Finnick replies without looking up from whatever it is he's doing, still pressing buttons as it makes a few more noises. He grumbles something under his breath that isn't audible every time it does and curiosity overtakes my exhaustion at the moment, wondering what exactly he is doing. "Got it." He finally smirks triumphantly and looks up to where I'm certain he's met with three very confused faces.

"Got what? I didn't even know you knew how to use that thing." Gale replies, and I half nod in agreement.

"I learned how to use it from Beetee over the past few months. He was reluctant to show me at first because of how much trouble I was in but eventually he showed me everything. It's not like I had much else to do anyway." he explains, and I guess that makes sense. But if he knew how to use the holo and he clearly knows more than Gale does, then why didn't Boggs give him the holo? "But he showed me a few tricks on it that will bring up parts of the map that shouldn't be on there. Take a look." He says handing it to me and Gale and Rory on either side of me look at the holo in my hands.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at, but the holo is showing me a virtual room that's colored entirely green, not the light blue haze that seems to light the thing usually. But to my confusion, it's showing us some kind of store in the Capitol, a clothing store by the look of it. I can just make out that most of it looks like fur on the clothing, the kind that Cinna has given me to wear in the winter months if we happened to be in the Capitol for an entertainment of some kind. It really doesn't make any sense though why Finnick would be so happy about this. I mean he's from District 4; not exactly much use for fur on a beach.

"A clothing store?" I question him, quirking an eyebrow. He nods with a smile and I give him a look that screams please explain.

"Not just any store; it's a rebel store. Or at least a rebel store owner anyway. Beetee had told me that the holo had a special feature that showed where any Capitol rebels lived so that people with the holo could find them easily to give them information or for a safe place to be. But he said he took it off in the end after someone in the Capitol got caught with it by Snow's guys and didn't want him to find it so the rebel almost lost his life trying to destroy the thing. After that he said that he left it on but there would be a series of codes to find it and a simple word to turn it off and it would rotate between three words."

"Beetee would think of that kind of solution." Gale interrupts, and I can sense a smile in his tone. Despite the fact that we never knew Beetee as well as Finnick or Johanna, he certainly knows his stuff and is loyal to us Victors and the people he trusts most. Credit to Beetee is certainly owed for many things and I wish I did tell him more than I have in the past.

"He definitely would." Finn agrees before continuing, "But anyway, this is a rebel base not far from here. Some store owner that used to be a stylist for the Hunger Games I think, I vaguely recognize the name from the first few years after I won."

"Who is it?" I ask, realizing that I may recognize it too. The stylists, or at least the ones that were around a while and had the most success were almost as well-known as Caeser or Cladius. Even if I was young when they were stylists I might still remember them from interviews year after year.

"Tigris something or other." Finnick replies. "I think she was the one so obsessed with cats that she made herself look like one. Big scandal here when she went too far with it even by Capitol standards and got kicked out of the stylists group for the Hunger Games."

"Well at least she would have a reason to hate them." Rory muses, and I have to agree. Some revenge even if it's shallow certainly would be a reason to be a Capitol rebel.

"I still don't think disguises are the best way to go, but she could at least feed us and tell us what's going on out there. We're so cut off down here after all it would be beneficial to know what's going on." Finnick exclaims and I have to agree with him though I still think disguises could work. I may be recognizable but if Tigris was a stylist surely she could make me look not myself at all. I'm sure Cinna could have but he never would and he already knows I hate all that stuff.

"Sounds good to me." Gale nods, his eyelids drooping with sleepiness. "How far away is it from here?"

"About two hours walk, maybe three through the pipes." Finnick shrugs, and with a nod in agreement we all decide on that plan without speaking, Finnick turning towards the doorframe again and the rest of us laying down. Gale wraps his arms around me and I use his chest as a pillow, easily and quickly giving into exhaustion.

Gale's POV

Though I'm exhausted I can't seem to sleep at all, even with Katniss in my arms. Though she can usually ward off most of my nightmares it doesn't seem to be working right now and after the third time that I wake up from a nightmare I just give up and keep my bloodshot and heavy eyes open, not wishing to go back into that world where everyone I love dies, where Snow is doing god knows what to Kennie (which more of a living nightmare and fear), where I realize that this mission could be a complete bust. After all, we basically have all sides against us; it's not like I haven't defeated the odds before, but they've never been quite this bad.

And since lying down isn't helping my will to stay awake, I gently move myself into a sitting position and let Katniss's head fall onto my lap instead of my chest. She stirs a little at the movement but doesn't wake up. I idly stroke her hair while just being silent, not wanting to wake up her or Finnick who is sleeping beside her.

Rory turns from his position guarding the room and seems surprised to see me up. "Aren't you tired?"

"Sleep isn't really helping me right now." I respond, not really caring to explain my fears and nightmares. He probably knows most of them anyway.

He nods in response and takes one look towards the doorframe before deciding to come over to my side, taking in the two sleeping forms before his gaze lingers on my fingers stroking Katniss's hair, a twisted expression on his face. I sigh at the look because I know the conversation I've been dreading is coming. He knows we flat out lied to him and he still can't see why.

"Rory…" I begin, the guilt despite knowing it was necessary seeping into my voice.

"Why didn't you tell me? Or Mom? Or anyone?" he questions me, hurt and confusion and a hint of anger in his tone. I sigh again and look for the words to describe this in the best way I can, but let's face it; I was never good with words and I really don't know how to do this eloquently.

"Because you were all being drugged by Coin and we couldn't trust you." I blurt out and brace for the impact.

"What?!" he half yells in shock and anger, clearly not caring about being quiet. "That's ridiculous! I think I would have known if I was being drugged." He scoffs at me.

"Apparently not." I mutter, and he gives me a dirty look. "I watched the doctors do it to you several times, Rory. You, Prim, Mom, even Posy. Everyone."

"And so apparently you just decided to not stop it?" he questions me, his tone thick with sarcasm. He obviously still doesn't believe he was being manipulated in the first place but doesn't understand why I think they were and didn't try to stop it.

"I would have if I could. But it was crucial that no one knew that I was fine, especially Coin and Snow." I try to explain, but even I can tell I'm doing a horrible job of it. I knew I was bad with words and not for the first time I wish the opposite was true.

"And why is that?" he asks, going along with it just for the hell of it.

"Because they have plans for me and it would be better for me to pull it out on them when they were unsuspecting." I reveal, but even saying it now it seems a bit stupid. I guess it could have worked and we could stop it had they known I was alright, but then they would probably find a way to blackmail me into this sham wedding they're planning. And it would be helpful if I could think of any reason they want the said wedding to take place as it is. The only reason I can think of is to make people hate me but I don't see how that particularly helps Snow or especially Coin.

"That's a dumbass reason, Gale. Even if I was being manipulated I wouldn't rat you out or lie to you." Rory insists, but I just shake my head. I'm sure he would, he probably wouldn't even know he did it. Heck, maybe he has lied to me for Coin and I just don't know it. I mean Prim lied to Katniss about her miscarrying apparently and never seemed to realize it after all.

"You couldn't-" I begin, but then I hear growls and I freeze in place. "What is that?" I ask, and I see that Rory has frozen in place too but he gets up quickly and goes to the door, gun in hand.

"Shit." He mutters. "Get them up, we've got company." He orders me, and as I shake first Katniss and then Finnick to wake them up I look up to where he's pointing his gun. A shot fires from it and a squealing pained cry can be heard, but it doesn't sound human.

"More mutts?" I ask him with dread, and the back of his head goes up and down as an answer as he fires again.

"How'd they find us?" Katniss questions, now alert at the sound of the gunshot. Damn good question; if the pipes or this room weren't on the holo then I thought we were pretty safe. But obviously we aren't because there's no one else down here the mutts would be sent after.

"Don't know but we've got to go. They're going to gain on us sooner rather than later and I don't want to be stuck in this room." Rory answers, reloading his gun with bullets.

"Let's head towards Tigris's." Finnick suggests, and I nod and stand up, taking my own gun out and making sure my bow is secure on my back before getting ready.

With a huff of air to do this, I follow Rory out with my gun aimed in the direction his was with Katniss and Finnick following me, instantly seeing the mutts. They look like peacekeepers dressed in the white uniforms, but they are far from human like I predicted. Some look like wolves with black slimy looking fangs and some look like deranged humans, almost as if they once were but got horribly messed up in the lab. But I don't think they actually are by their larger than normal glowing red eyes that are all giving us death glares. Unfortunately the direction we have to go sort of goes in their path, but there's not much we can do about that.

And so we race, shooting as the peacekeeper mutts shoot at us but they seem to miss; not exactly crack shots which is good for us. And so we shoot at them over and over as we run blindly, tripping over things on our way past them but I don't really pay attention to anything but moving and shooting. They seem to be very hard to kill, but if you hit them in the head or hand where there's no armor they go down for just a second; it's something anyway.

"Crap." Rory says about ten yards ahead of me, stopping where he is and looking frantically side to side and then up. "Dead end."

Dead end? Shit, that's not good. We might as well have stayed in that storage room if it was going to come to this. I look around and see that the ceiling has an exit almost like the entrance we came in from the street but it seems a little different. It might not be the best solution and I don't know where it leads because I stupidly forgot the holo, but it's got to be better than just giving ourselves up to the mutts.

"Up!" I yell, pointing towards the ceiling. Rory looks up as I pull Katniss to me, bending down. She knows instantly to get on my shoulders and I extend to full height and she can reach the thing as I stand under it. She fiddles with it and I'm getting impatient, Rory and Finn shooting at the mutts.

"Come on Katniss!" I shout up to her, knowing that if she doesn't get it in like five seconds we're all mutt meat.

"Almost!" she says down, hissing in pain at something but then I hear a small pop from above me. "Got it!"

And with that she pulls herself up and takes in her surroundings quickly. "It's an apartment." She reveals, and though I know it's probably not too safe it's better than nothing. "Rory!" I yell to him, indicating he should go next. He shoots another peacekeeper and comes to me where I put out my hands for him to step into, grunting at his weight as Katniss tries to pull him up. "Finn!" I yell to him without turning around as soon as Rory's up, and he grunts in pain.

"Hold on!" he yells, backing up into me as he shoots still. "Give me your gun, I'll help you up first."

I don't know if that's the best plan but we don't really have time to argue so I hand it to him and he whips around and places his hands out for me to step into like I did for Rory. As Katniss and Rory help me up I hear a cry of pain from Finnick and look down to see blood pooling.

"Finnick!"


	37. Pains

Katniss's POV

"Pull me up!" a grunt comes from below and no sooner than Rory and I have Gale up he and Rory are back down to grasping down, making noises of pain and effort as they slowly pull a sweating Finnick up. Finn uses all of his strength that he has left to help them and once he's in I grab the cover from behind me and shut it on a mutt's face, just now noticing the blood smeared around the circular area. Glancing back I find Gale's hand pressed against Finnick's calf, blood covering it completely.

"What happened?" I ask him, sitting on the covering of the hole just in case. I don't really think that the mutts can get through but they do seem more human like than most, if they can figure out what we did to get out of there then they may pick up on the same thing.

"One of them got me as soon as you grabbed Gale. I shot it but it kept pulling on my leg even as I was coming up." Finnick explains through pained breaths of air, clearly trying to hide how hurt he is and failing. I can't really deal with blood that well and I really feel like I'm going to throw up from being near so much of it, but I suck it up because between all of us even I have to admit that I have the best medical knowledge. He's going to need help after all. "Let go, Gale. I need to see it." I order him, coming to crouch at Finnick's side. He looks at me with a knowing confused expression but I just nod at him, telling him with my eyes that I'll be okay. Or at least I'm going to try to be.

Eventually Gale pulls his hand that's covered in Finn's blood away and I almost lose it and bolt out of the room when I see the marred and gory leg that belongs to Finnick. I don't actually see why human like mutts would do this (unless it was the wolf ones) but there are three bite marks, chunks of his leg literally taken out. In one of them I can even see the shiny yet dull white of bone. It takes all I have not to show my panic as I go through my backpack, coming out with gauze, a bandage, and something to stitch it with. I know he needs medical attention and certainly something better than what we have now, but I don't have anything for a tourniquet to even try to help it at the moment. But we are in this apartment, maybe there's something we can use.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I look up to find Finnick wincing and desperately trying not to cry out in pain and Rory going through the weapons we have left and making sure they're all right; I have a feeling one of the bows got damaged going through that hole but I certainly hope not. I turn to Gale who is only watching me intently, wiping his hand off on the floor and smearing some of the blood on the floor that's already stained with it.

"Gale, I need you to find me something to use for a tourniquet. I can't really help him right now without one." I tell him as he studies me.

"You can go find something. I'll stay here with Finnick." He offers, giving me an out without giving it away to Finn though it doesn't matter to Rory; he already knows. But I need to at least prove this to myself, so I shake my head.

"No, I need to stitch him up the best I can. You do it." I reply, and he stares at me for a second just to make sure before getting up.

"Here, take this." Rory exclaims, holding out my bow for him. "Yours is broken unfortunately but all the guns we have seem to be fine."

Oh great, now we're down to one bow and three guns. Somewhere in the middle of the mutts chasing us and leaving that storage space we must have either lost the others or they got broken too. I wouldn't blame Finnick for dropping Gale's gun when he got hurt and he probably dropped his own when all the bullets were fired after all. At least we'll all have a weapon for some time though even though it looks like Finnick shouldn't really move on any further.

Gale nods and takes my bow and his own quiver, more for just precaution than anything. With all the commotion we've caused and no one has been seen or heard yet I highly doubt anyone's even here anyway. Probably evacuated this part of the Capitol, going closer to the Presidential Mansion I'd guess.

Once he's turned the corner I set to work on Finnick's leg, putting the string through the needle and hesitating slightly before puncturing skin. He hisses in pain from the tender skin but bites down on his collar to keep himself together as I put stitches in as neatly as I can and as quickly as I can. I move onto the second one fairly quickly apologizing the whole time, keeping focused so I can stop this for him and me. But halfway through I hear a cry of pain and a shriek and drop the needle, panicking.

Rory and I glance to each other once before abandoning Finnick just for the moment, each of us taking a gun and silently racing through the apartment looking for Gale. We find him in a room two halls down, a Capitol woman with curly rainbowed hair on the floor bleeding from a chest wound. He turns around and looks guilty, but just shrugs.

"She took me by surprise and I shot on reflex. I didn't think anyone would actually be here." he explains, and I'm about to answer when someone else interrupts.

"Gale Hawthorne! Where are your manners?"

All three of our heads whip around and our jaws drop in shock at the woman standing in the doorway with a frown on her face and hands on hips, shaking her head at the scene before her.

"Effie?" Gale eventually finds it in himself to say with wide eyes, lowering the bow.

"Honestly, you can't just go shooting people! This isn't an arena." Effie ignores him as she observes the woman on the ground, shaking her head. Actually I fail to agree; the Capitol certainly seems like a twisted arena at the present time to me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her once I recover from shock, lowering my gun. In response she sighs.

"Gathering information. Thank you for killing one of my two best sources of information for the rebels." she replies and my eyebrows rise. I don't know if I'm more surprised at what she's actually implying or that she's using sarcasm.

"You're a rebel?" Rory asks unbelievingly, though I vaguely remember that. What did she do again? Oh yeah, the chaos for the breakout for Gale and Finnick. It's not that I forgot, it's that I thought she'd be dead or captured by now for being a rebel. It's…well okay, I forgot.

"Of course I am!" she exclaims as if it's an insult for him to think otherwise though I really don't think he's that out of line here. "You all have the Capitol in quite the commotion at the moment. President Snow was not pleased when the mutts found the rest of your squad and you weren't among them."

"Not surprising." Gale mutters and I nod in agreement. I'm sure President Snow just loved that he didn't get us and we disappeared. Well, until he sent those mutts after us I'm sure when he figured out where we'd been hiding anyway.

Effie sighs again at the woman dead on the ground but she doesn't seem as upset as she should be. I wonder if she actually liked her. It's odd to think of Effie not liking anyone aside from Haymitch but who knows?

"Well come with me then. We can go up to my apartment and talk." She offers and I'm actually grateful for it. If she thinks that it's safe there then she must have been really discreet about her status as a rebel for her to believe it's not being bugged. Maybe she really hasn't done much aside from that breakout thing which really could have been anyone if you didn't know Effie well enough.

She starts turning around expecting us to follow but I stop her. "Wait! We have to go get Finnick." I remind them and Effie raises an eyebrow at that but nods, clicking over to come with us. Finnick's eyes go wide at the presence of Effie when we come back but doesn't comment, allowing me to stitch him up quickly and wrapping his leg before Gale and Rory go on either side of him, half dragging him along as we follow Effie out of the apartment and up the elevator to her apartment.

Finnick's POV

Well this is certainly not as expected. I mean I knew that Effie was a rebel from Haymitch but never had I expected her to be one to help us. Her apartment wasn't on the holo in green as far as I could tell but maybe it just hadn't been updated since. Or maybe they just kept her off of it because she was far too close to the targets to even put on it. Not that I could double check anyway because I don't have it anymore. I can't believe I was so stupid as to leave the thing in that storage room without getting out of Tigris's store. Hopefully it just stays lost so she doesn't come to any harm from it.

I also didn't exactly expect to get bitten by those mutts though I figured it was a possibility, leaving me quite clearly unable to do much of anything now. I mean, I'm pretty sure I can't even walk on my own at the moment though I could probably still shoot a gun. But it looks like I'm probably out for this mission no matter how much I wish I wasn't.

Gale and Rory drag me up to Effie's apartment and ease me onto her plush purple couch with green and orange throw pillows and I can't hide the gasp of pain that comes out of me as I lift my leg onto the coffee table in front of me. The crashing ebbs shooting up from my calf are excruciating and it's taking most of my concentration.

"Oh dear, let's see what I have here." I hear Effie say from behind me as she rummages through her kitchen though I'm not really sure what she's talking about. A few minutes later her heels click back over and hands me a glass of water and a pill bottle. "These should help. They always take away any pain I have."

"But have you ever used them for something like this?" Gale asks, as he had described briefly my bites and all the blood.

She shakes her head much to my disappointment though I don't know why I'm surprised. The only thing Effie has probably ever done or ever come close to hurting her leg like that would be falling from those ridiculously high shoes, but she seems pretty good with them like most Capitolite women so I doubt it. "No, but it's the best I have." She sighs.

Well it's worth a shot anyway. It can't harm me anymore than I already am and I'm pretty sure it can only get better from here. I shake out three pills from the bottle and pop them in my mouth, swishing it down with water and finishing the glass before putting both down. I don't feel anything yet but maybe it's not as fast as the medicine at the Training Center.

"Are you hungry?" Effie asks us, being a good hostess. We all nod our heads, trying to hide how starving we all actually are. None of us have eaten anything in a while.

She comes back over in a few minutes with a simple meat and cheese tray as well as drinks and despite all manners (clearly, it doesn't actually matter to us) the four of us dig in while Effie actually decides to not comment and just tuts silently at our behavior. Hmm, maybe she really has changed from before. There's no way a year ago Effie Trinket would let this kind of behavior go, rebel or no.

I eat as much as I can and at some point during the snack the pain medication kicks in. The pain has definitely not gone away and I can still feel the muscles aching and screaming in pain from my leg but it's not unmanageable. I'm pretty sure I can at least focus on strategy now even though it's pretty clear I can't do much myself past this point. Even if they were going to let me go (doubtful) I don't think I could stand going more than a few feet much less probably miles towards the mansion and possibly fighting. It disappoints me but at least Annie will be happy about it; she didn't want me going off and fighting in the first place, not with her pregnant with our first child. At least I won't really be in much danger of leaving my child without a father now. Focus on the good, Finnick.

"So what are we going to do now?" Katniss breaks the silence after our hunger has been mostly sated, sitting on the couch across from me with Gale's hand on her thigh and hers over it. Well there's a good thing if any; at least they can act normally again.

"Well I'd guess it's pretty obvious I can't do anything." I shrug, trying to act like I don't care though I really do.

"You most certainly will not! You are staying right here Mr. Odair." Effie demands, but it's not in the way that women would say it for appointments (though by the way she's acted in the past I wouldn't think she'd mind). It's more of a demand you'd get from a caretaker, one that is only concerned about your health. It's a nice change of pace for sure.

"Okay, well I guess it's down to the three of us then." Gale exclaims and checks out our dwindled pile of weapons. "We only have three guns and a bow." He observes unnecessarily, though he seems bitter about it. It's certainly not the best way to go storm the Presidential Mansion, especially considering those are the only bullets we have. But both Gale and Katniss have plenty of arrows so that's something at least.

"Okay so each of you take a gun and give Katniss the bow." I decide for them, knowing they need my gun more than I do at the moment. It's not likely that Effie will be suspected of keeping me here and if she is I'll just drag myself into some hiding place. "She has the best shot, but I think you should still keep your quiver just in case Gale."

"That's a good idea." Katniss replies. "If I need to hand it to you then you will already have arrows. And you can always use them at close range too like a knife." she adds, though I can tell she doesn't like the idea of it getting close range at all.

"True. So when should we leave? We don't even have the holo anymore and we don't know what's going on out there." Gale points out, and it's Effie that answers him.

"Stay here and rest, at least until morning. You all seem exhausted and you're welcome to watch my television for news."

They all start protesting but I butt in. "Effie has a point. It would do you all good to recoup for a while."

"But Kennie…" Katniss almost whispers, her worry clear. She wants to get there as fast as possible and I don't blame her.

"She hasn't been harmed so far as far as I can tell." Rory adds, and I'm surprised he's on my side so quickly. Maybe he can actually see sense. "I doubt she'll be in much trouble if we wait twelve hours."

Gale huffs in frustration, but finally agrees bitterly. "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Oh good, I'll prepare the guest rooms for you three and Finnick dear, you can stay on the couch with that leg. It won't do well for you to walk quite yet." Effie decides, immediately getting up and bustling around her apartment without a reply from any of us.

And while she's busy doing whatever we talk strategy, when they should leave, where to go, etc. It's a good plan and though I can't do much of anything, I plan to be watching and hoping for them the whole time, because it's bound to be on that television at some point with this plan. This…this can work.

This war will be over and done with soon.

Rory's POV

I'm glad they bought the whole wait until morning thing, and that they didn't even bother to check on me. Didn't even put the weapons in their room or by Finnick. I knew I had to stick with them after they ran off, because clearly Boggs wasn't loyal anymore. Coin needs someone loyal and I guess that leaves me. She has a good plan to make a better Panem and I don't intend for anyone, not even family, to get in the way of that. Which means that Kennie has to stay with Snow, at least until she gets here. Don't get me wrong, I love my niece, but this is for the good of Panem. If Gale and Katniss could only see that Coin was the best option…

But no matter, I have to do this right and I have to do this alone. And so I sneak out a few hours before we were supposedly leaving Effie's apartment and silently as I can creep to where we kept the weapons for the night, taking the bow, one of the quivers, and two guns. I'm not a better shot than my brother or Katniss by far but they will be a lot less likely to botch Coin's plans without it, and so it goes with me. They have a gun and the other arrows to use at close range, I wouldn't leave them entirely defenseless after all.

Luckily Finnick is sound asleep on the couch and I can only hope he stays that way as I back out to the door quietly, watching him with careful eyes before slipping out into the dark hallway, focused only on the plan. Taking out the holo from my backpack I set my destination and go on with determination.

Coin needs me, and I need to do my duty. No matter what.


	38. Signs

Gale's POV

Alright, don't panic. Just because Rory's not in his room doesn't mean anything. I have to remind myself this as I go to wake him up hours before dawn in Effie's apartment so that we can leave and infiltrate the Presidential Mansion, get Kennie out of Snow's grasp and…end the war or at least get her to safety. It will really depend on what happens when we get there and though I hate that a plan can be so flimsy, it's not like we have much choice in the matter. We have limited resources, limited time, and very few people who would hesitate to kill us or turn us in to Snow; not exactly the best circumstances.

Hmm…maybe he's just in the bathroom or something. Or maybe in the kitchen and Katniss has found him as she goes to check on our weapons. I know it's stupid, but I can't help this nagging feeling that something is off. Though the bed has clearly been slept in recently, Rory isn't there and I don't hear a word from the bathroom. Trying mostly in vain to push back my suspicions, I go down the hallway and find Katniss kneeling on the ground where our weapons are and Finnick switching between cursing and checking different television stations, flipping through the news ones.

"What's going on?" I question; I know something's off by their behavior but I need to know where we stand.

"Weapons are gone; all but one gun and a knife." Finnick mutters bitterly, trying to keep whatever panic he has out of his statement. I sigh and walk over to where Katniss is still kneeling and stand behind her, watching her fiddle with the single gun now there. She doesn't look up or even acknowledge me, but I know she knows I'm right behind her; she's probably trying to hide whatever she's feeling, whatever she's guessing from me. But I'm not.

"It was Rory." I try to state with no emotion as if this really is just a mission, but even I can see that I fail when I can easily hear the anger and sense of betrayal in my voice.

"He's gone for sure then?" Finnick asks me, clear by his expression that he had already guessed as much. After all, who else would take our weapons but not turn us in or kill us? Certainly not any of the peacekeepers and I'd half guess that any squad member for the rebellion would have at least alerted Coin. And since no one is banging down the door or insisting we talk to her, I really doubt it.

I sigh and nod in response. "Yep, can't find him."

"Why would he do this?" Katniss mostly questions herself aloud as she half throws the gun with annoyance onto the floor again, the thing skidding and hitting the wall behind it.

"He's been manipulated." Finn answers her anyway, knowing the most out of any of us about what was going on in District 13 even though I spent a good deal of time spying in those hidden hallways, specifically Coin's office. "Even if it's waned, even if you're his family, it's still there. Sometimes it can be triggered by the smallest things."

"Like what?" she turns around, half glaring at him. It's easy to see that she's visibly upset by Rory abandoning us like this, but even if it's not quite his fault she's still pissed.

Finn huffs and looks back to the television quickly and changing the channel before turning back to her, but gives her an answer. "Anything at all. Maybe it was the holo and the mention of rebels that triggered something in him. Maybe it could have been Effie because he knew she helped the rebels when they recused Gale and I. Or maybe it was just always there and he was good at hiding it."

That could be true, that last one. After all, he seemed pretty pissed that Katniss and I had lied to him and our family about being normal again. That I wasn't that forgetful ass still. And I understand that, I really do, but it doesn't call for abandoning us here with practically no defenses at all. "Do you really think it's for Coin or just from him being pissed?"

Finn shrugs. "Who knows? My guess is Coin but you know him better than I do. Would Rory do that just because he was mad at you two?"

"Maybe." Katniss answers for him, standing up from the ground. "But something is off about that theory. If he's pissed…"

"If he was just pissed, he wouldn't have left behind anything at all. It's always been an all or nothing thing for him, no chance at you getting what you want." I finish for her and as soon as the words come out of my mouth I know that theory is all but out. I remember a few times when Rory's been pissed at me before. Once he really wanted to go hunting with me but I didn't want to take him, so he literally hid my hunting boots and refused to give them back until I took him. I searched the house in Victor's Village for at least an hour before I finally gave in just because I needed to go. Or that time when we were really young, back when dad was still alive; we were playing a game of cards and I was winning but I had to go check on Vick so I left for a second; he switched the cards around and we had to start over because I couldn't remember what they all were. But the point is, he never would have left me any hint if he was mad; which means if he left something behind he still cares even if he's manipulated.

"Well what now then?" Katniss asks, coming over by me and I drape my arm around her, pulling her closer.

"I can't seem to find any news on him which means that he's not doing anything stupid in public. Maybe you can figure out where he went and catch up to him." Finn suggests, still flipping through channels just to make sure.

"Probably went back to camp if he's Coin's lackey." I mutter bitterly, which isn't good because it's the exact opposite direction we need to go.

"Well we can't go that way. We have to get to the mansion no matter what." Katniss decides and I nod in agreement.

Finn hesitates, but he eventually let's his fear be known. "Are you sure you two can get there with just a knife and a gun? You don't even have the holo anymore so it's just down to a paper map."

I sigh but I already know Katniss will feel the same so I answer for both of us bitterly. "It's not like we have a choice."

Penny's POV

Despite this place being my home for most of my life, I still have no sense of homecoming or joy in coming back here to the Capitol. Alma was insistent that we arrive to the Capitol soon as the 'plan was going well' whatever that means, and two days after my almost hated choice that didn't seem like much of a choice at all to help Snow and Alma. I don't really have any way to figure out their plan now but that doesn't really matter; I know Alma's plan for sure though I still can't believe I'm helping her right along myself and as for Snow…well I just know him. That he would go with this plan means nothing but to get exactly what he wants. I don't know if he knows Alma's plans for this sham wedding but if he does and knows a way around it…well either way, I pretty much lose. As long as my father lives and is set free that's all I care. I just have to make sure that happens before this stupid wedding.

"So you must be the darling Leta!" the wedding planner squeals that Snow hired as he comes into the room I'm staying in. I try to look excited as any bride to be would be to have her wedding right here in the Capitol, right here in the backyard of the Presidential Mansion to one of the admittedly hottest Victors the Hunger Games has ever produced. I wonder how much this guy knows for real? Certainly not who I really am from his reaction, but I don't have the signature white hair of a Snow anymore after all. Now it's still a gaudy pink of some real Capitolite teenager that I hate more with every passing day.

I'm tempted to tell him who I really am or at least a no, but Snow's assistant (or basically vile bitch) Namari who's basically his spy for everything here in the Mansion and at parties is watching me closely for any slip up; she knows everything about the situation and she certainly knows who I am so that makes it easier to push back my wants and remember the real reason why I'm here pretending to be this girl. My father; I need him back and to not actually be killed, and that requires me to do a damn good job at my role. And so I put on the fake Capitol accent that I've perfected over the years from simply being bored and answer the planner. "Oh yes, I am! I'm sooo happy that you are doing this for me. Really, it's like, the best thing ever!"

"Well darling, you have quite a catch there! Where is the handsome man?" he questions me with a delighted smile. I'm honestly surprised how happy he is about this because I would have assumed that everyone in Panem hated me for this story. Hell, I would hate me and I kind of do. But maybe he's just excited to have this job, as it's probably bringing him more money than he's ever gotten before for planning a wedding. Greed over horror, I guess.

"Oh don't worry, he's coming." I assure him with a smile. "He's on his way right now."

And while I'm smiling and Namari's stare seems to approve of my answer and how I presented it, I dread it on the inside. Because despite my father I wish with every fiber of my being that it wasn't true.

Katniss's POV

"Where next?" Gale whispers to me in the near pitch black of the underground paths of the Capitol. I shrug but I doubt he can see it. Since we didn't have the holo we don't have much of a clue where we're going right now, but even with that being here seemed safer than just trying to stroll on down the streets right up to Snow's Mansion. That was just death waiting to happen for both of us and sooner rather than later. We could have tried to make it to that stylist's store, Tigris, but we didn't get a close look of where that was before we stupidly left the holo when those mutts came after us. Aside from the fact that she may be compromised now because of our stupidity if someone found the thing.

I take out my paper map and risk putting on the mini flashlight I have in my armor, glancing around the map until I find where I think we are. "Um…I guess we keep going straight and take a left up here. At least that's how the streets go."

It's the best I can come up with but we seem to be getting closer now. We've had a few close calls with avoxes down here but no mutts have been sent after us. Maybe they think we're going from building to building or something.

Gale nods in agreement and I turn off the flashlight almost sadly, because it really is very dark down here and the light makes me feel safer though that sounds ridiculous; after all, it's a clear sign that someone's down here that shouldn't be. But Gale takes one of my hands in his and I have the knife in the other after insisting that Gale takes the gun. He didn't like it, but once I pointed out that we both knew that he would immediately try to protect me whether I liked it or not if someone came he'd better have the long range weapon. And with that said I pushed it in his hands and walked on, knowing he was at least going to go with it for now when he was right behind me not a minute later.

I'm still angry at Rory for doing what he did, leaving us with virtually nothing and leaving us at all, but at least I kind of get it now. Really I'm more worried at this point where he is because we haven't found any sign of another incognito person down here, but maybe he just covered his tracks well. But I'm more worried about Kennie than anyone at all at this point and that's what keeps driving me forward, into the darkness to the mansion of the man I hate.

We know we're close when even the underground seems to get nicer and more well lit, and all of a sudden it's real halls and not dank at all and there are more than a few avoxes around. I glance at my map and I'm fairly certain that we're actually under the mansion now, but I'm not certain until Gale and I are hiding behind a cart when two avoxes pass and they're carrying empty trays with white roses on them. Yep, this has to be the place.

We have to sit there on alert for a while as many other avoxes and occasionally a peacekeeper walks into the hall or right past us, my crouched legs screaming in pain from the position. But after there is no one for at least ten minutes Gale obviously decides that this is our chance and pulls me up and across the hallway, my legs stiff and sore but I keep going. We barely miss someone around the corner as we hide behind a stairwell, but once they pass without seeming to know we're here I decide to take the chance and bolt up them as fast and as quietly as I can, Gale right behind me.

Opening the door I find that we're in a closet of some sort, some kind of storage. But then I open the door a few feet away and find through the crack that it's a magnificent hall with carpeted floors and delicate paintings and beautiful lights hanging from the ceiling. There doesn't seem to be anyone at all around though and it seems deserted, so I risk coming out of the closet.

Gale looks around the hall too before his gaze locks on mine, a quirked eyebrow and a frown asking me the same thing I'm thinking. Where is everyone? Or is it night or something? We weren't really paying attention to time since we didn't have a way to anyway underground but it could be the middle of the night. But from the window at the end of the hall it appears that the sun is up at least; maybe there's just no one in this hallway. After all, this is where avoxes can come up after all.

In response to Gale I shrug and we quietly take our weapons out and at the ready though Gale's gun is now empty of bullets because he had to use the two bullets in there for peacekeepers earlier, but at least it still looks deadly. We quietly creep through the mansion like we would in our woods, alert for danger or any sense that someone is here or coming. Finding nothing on this floor, we eventually climb up stairs and hallways, avoiding people by slipping into rooms when we either hear their voices or their feet coming our way. But aside from that, the place seems empty. Strangely empty.

Since this place is huge and we really haven't been to many places in here, we know finding anything we need is going to be more by chance than anything. But when Gale pushes me back into the hall he looks almost relieved. I give him a strange look and he risks whispering to me.

"It's the ballroom. Let's go to his office." He whispers and I nod in agreement. It's not the best plan but maybe we can take him by surprise; after all, we still do have the knife. I take Gale's hand in mine that is clenching the gun and slip the gun out of his grasp, putting the knife in its place. I already know he's better at hand to hand than I am and at least if I have the gun I seem like the more deadly person. Besides, it's not likely that Snow has peacekeepers in his office if he's alone.

Strangely enough we make it there without seeing anyone at all, even peacekeepers or avoxes though we keep our weapons as useless as they may be ready. I feel a sense of dread and sickness even before opening the door to Snow's office, his sickening scent lingering even out here. But the place is deserted so with my useless gun aimed, Gale nods and opens the door as I slip in.

And though his scent is almost overpowering in this room, the place is vacant. Feeling lucky, I go in and double check the bathroom just in case but there's no one there either. Gale quietly closes the door behind him.

"No one's here." I whisper aloud, lowering my gun.

"Odd." He comments, but doesn't put away the knife just yet. "Let's look around. Maybe he has cameras or something on where she is."

We invade the room, looking in drawers and filing cabinets and book shelves first though as quickly and as quietly as we can, glancing at the door a lot in case someone happens to come in. But no one does every time and I feel a little safer, paying more attention to what I'm looking at.

When there's nothing incriminating or helpful on the bookshelves I boldly decide to check his desk and come behind it, pushing back a shudder when I realize how many times I've been on the other side of this desk as he threatens me or requests something of me that I have no choice but to do though I'd usually hate it and he'd always sound like he could just be talking about a hobby or something. And though I despise this room more than most others, I can find the advantage he'd have from this side of the desk. I feel empowered just standing on the other side, facing the door.

Shaking off that thought, I focus back on what I'm doing and go to opening drawers in the desk since there's not much on top of it. Mostly just files in the drawers on the bottom. One has only fourteen of them, one for each district including 13 and one for the Capitol. I wonder what's actually in them and why Snow would want them so close but close the drawer, knowing anything involving where Makenna is isn't likely to be in them. The other drawer has some pens and such but not much. A computer is on his desk and I touch the screen tentatively but frown to find it wants me to give it a password. It's probably the key to finding Kennie but I'm not going to risk getting the wrong password because sirens or and alert or something would probably go off and we'd be screwed. Aside from the fact that I wouldn't have the first clue what a horrible man like Snow would have as a password.

The next drawer I check is the one in the middle of the desk and I open it, finding a few paper clips and a notepad that's empty. I open it a little further and some things seem to clang in the back. There's a necklace I don't recognize with a silver heart thing on it, a pin much like my mockingjay one that Madge gave me so long ago. I can't see the whole drawer so I put my hand in it, feeling around. Next I come up with some fancy looking brooch that I recognize as one gamemakers wear on their purple robes for the Games every year. Putting it aside, I place my hand back in and find something cool and small, circular. I pull it out and all I can do is stare at the gold ring in my hand, fumbling and inspecting it in my hand just to make sure even though it's not necessary. I can't believe this is here; no I can, it's Snow. Of course he would.

"Gale." I call to him softly, still staring at the ring in my hand. He turns to me from where he's been inspecting books and gives me a look.

"Yeah?" he answers me, and I hold up the ring in my hand and gaze at him. He squints when he sees it before coming closer, stopping a few feet from me around the desk. "Is that…mine?"

I nod in response, just as confused and yet annoyed as he is. Instead of giving it to him though I take his left hand in mine and slip on the wedding ring onto his ring finger like I did so long ago, putting it back where it belongs. Even when I'm done I keep his hand in mine and trace the ring and I can feel his smiling gaze on me. This has to be a sign that things are going to be alright.

"Very touching, but I believe we have business to attend to, don't we?" Snow's voice breaks the moment, his voice creepy and sickeningly sweet to accompany the scent which has increased tenfold with his arrival, his smirk that I hate gracing his face.

And maybe it's a sign that things are going to get a whole lot worse.


	39. Check

Snow's POV

I learned how to play chess as a boy with my father many years ago, far longer than I care to admit some days. It was a different time though around the same, a time where the dark ages had ended less than a decade before I was born and the Hunger Games were still a novel thing, the districts still beaten down and defeated, easy to control for the Capitol in which I lived. My father always taught me that like the Hunger Games, like life itself even, it was all a chess game. He told me at that young age when he could already see the greatness that my future would hold that I should learn the game well because it may well be my achievement or my destruction depending on how I played it.

Alma though she tried, had never quite gotten the strategy of chess as well as I ever had. I could always predict her moves, always multiple steps ahead of her. I would let her take a piece every now and then to give her hope only to blindside her in the next move, crushing that sense of luck and something to keep going. And like life itself even now, I was doing exactly that. The only thing that had changed was that it wasn't a board we were playing on, it was the country of Panem. And the pieces were no longer marble; now they were the flesh of humans and their hearts and minds that one could play with, manipulate. Really, it's the best kind of game one such as myself being a strategist can play.

The faces of two of my most valuable pieces in this game make me smile with triumph, how they drop in horror and fear. It's almost intoxicating how it drives me forward, and I am quite pleased that they fell into my trap so easily and seemingly without suspicion. Surely they did not believe that the two of them could have made it here unscathed with merely a gun and a knife, could they? Surely they couldn't have believed that they could arrive here in my office without being caught unless they were simply puppets in my game? But apparently they did, and this game just became an entirely different level of entertainment. For me, in any case.

They don't speak at all, frozen in their shock so I continue without their answer. "It's been much too long since the three of us have had a chat, hasn't it? I've quite missed them."

It's true I've missed them, it's always quite pleasurable to see how they react to my power and sometimes attempt to find a way around it even though they realize they cannot. It's the same as anyone that I manipulate. The only difference with these two is that they have indeed successfully found a way around my plans, not once but twice. This is inconceivable to me and cannot be forgiven. The man though, Mr. Hawthorne, is the one I have more of a debt to settle with however. Not only did he succeed over ten years ago in removing himself from duties I assigned him as well as making it near impossible for me to give the same to her, he also must have had a hand in the birth control mishap. Certainly it was the girl who was more responsible for this particular incident but he had to have known and helped. Either way, he is the more valuable of the two; the one I need most for my plans to go smoothly at any rate.

They ready their weapons instead of answering once more and I give a half chuckle. "Honestly, that is not necessary. I already know that your gun is empty Mrs. Hawthorne, and as for your knife it will do you no good; I am wearing armor against it."

"What?" the man says as she drops the useless gun, clearly confused at my knowing.

"Did you sincerely believe you would have arrived here in my office unless I wished for this?" I question them, and they cannot hide their shock. It's quite amusing actually, I was under the impression that they were in fact respectable enough at strategy and knowledge of the motives of others, specifically me most of the time. Apparently not.

"You…what?" she mutters aloud, her surprise still evident.

"Oh yes. I did mention we had business to attend to, did I not?" I flash a smile at her, my mirth clear in my expression.

They are about to answer but right on cue, the door opens and my prize comes through, distracting them immediately as she shrieks and runs towards them.

"Mommy! Daddy!" dear Makenna calls out excitedly, my darling phoenix doing her job splendidly without trying. Such is the nature of children, even exceptional ones such as herself, to never think of the consequences or the reasons for this set up. In fact, the dear child does not even realize it's a set up at all.

"Kennie!" the parents say with a mixture of relief and content, momentarily forgetting the situation at hand as their daughter that they have not seen in a while comes crashing towards them into a hug. I let the scene go on, watching the happy family reunion. And as much as it should hurt to break up this little happy ending that will be their last reunion if all goes as planned, it is vitally necessary for my own strategy to do so.

But first, to assure that they realize that I'm not the man they believe I am. Or more so, not understanding my motives behind my recent behavior.

"Are you okay?" the woman asks frantically, hands caressing and searching her daughters face and body for any sense of torture or harm. She seems almost surprised to not find one piece of evidence for her theories.

"I'm fine Mommy. I just got back from the zoo." Makenna answers her, and her father's eyebrows crease in confusion.

"What happened? Why aren't you…" he questions her, but stops himself. It appears no matter how upset or angry he is with my simple order to have the girl in my grasp no matter the consequences which in this case involved the death of a certain troublesome Victor, he cannot ask a child. I'm certain the child was a tad traumatized by the death of Miss Mason who was at the time her caretaker, but she has not mentioned it once since. And such as the nature of children that if you can treat them right and give them excitement they can forget. It's almost Mr. Hawthorne's undoing that he is trying to protect the girl from that pain because otherwise this would be a bit more difficult to go smoothly.

"I've been living here for a while but it's been so much fun! I'm not even in the training center where we always are when we're here. I've gotten ice cream and pretty clothes and everything!" she answers, and the parents look at her first before exchanging a look, and then turning their questioning and baffled gaze to me.

"Of course dear Makenna has been treated right." I answer their unspoken questions, pleased at how confused they appear to be. Did they honestly believe I would harm a child, specifically this one? It's in my best interest to treat this little girl right after all; conditioning for the future. "And as lovely as this reunion is, we have that business to attend to." I remind them.

"What business?" the man, questions guardedly, the girl standing up and protectively holding her daughter to her, arms wrapped around each other. He still cleaves to the knife but he already knows it's useless by what I have told him; certainly he should know it is futile to attempt an assassination on my life.

"It would have been much simpler if you had never reversed your treatments, but as is such the plans have changed accordingly." I reveal to them, though they appear to be surprised and yet unsurprised that I have this knowledge. Perhaps they realize that I have access to any information I so choose though Alma does not though she believes as much. I am well aware they have been keeping this fact from her, however. Even I am unclear as to why because it would not make much of a difference if she knew, but perhaps it does not matter.

"What do you want?" the man almost seethes, pushing his family behind him with his flimsy knife as their protection.

I laugh, delighted that he has asked. Finally our business can go somewhere and I can move on to the next play. "Must you always assume I desire something?"

"Yes." I hear from behind him, but I ignore it. As is such, it's true in a way but not how they believe so.

"I assure you that I do not make all my plans for my own pleasure. Some in fact, are for the well-being of the country." I assure them, though Mr. Hawthorne does not bother to hide his eye roll. "And so, I must tell you your part in the plan to get the country there."

"What part?" he asks me cautiously, though he seems to be dreading it. But it appears to be a specific type of dread, as if he already knows what I am going to say and does not wish to hear it aloud. As such, I do in fact believe he's heard wind of this particular role he must play; after all, dolling out rumors of this event and his involvement thus far have been inaccurate but no one needs to know this. It can still seem to be the truth to the country.

"Why your wedding, of course!" I smile at him with glee. "After all, you are in love again with a delightful young girl."

"I'm already married and in love, so no thanks." He has the audacity to say to me, but it's no problem to me; he is the one at my mercy after all in my home where I have peacekeepers and others at my disposal.

"Ah so you see how much easier it would be if you were in fact still clueless to your life." I shake my head, a faux frown gracing my face. For certain this would have made the job easier but I find this way much more…exciting. What's a true game without a few unexpected twists and turns anyhow? It keeps you on your feet so that you may exercise your brain.

"Do you honestly believe even then that I would just go with the plan and marry this Leta girl you have people believing I love? Leta doesn't even exist!" he fights to not yell, but his anger and confusion is clear. For certain he has met a girl named Leta, so has his wife behind him. I know well enough from Alma that Penelope did her part as that girl before just for their sake.

"With a bit of manipulation, absolutely." I inform him, because that happened to be the original plan. He may have resisted the tracker jacker venom the first time which is astonishing in itself, but with his amnesia towards his wife and daughter he would not have believed he had anyone, and a bit of tracker jacker venom could have sealed that. Add this with a bit of a love potion and making certain Penelope knew what she was up against and I would have been on my way to killing two birds with one stone. And yet we are left with these circumstances, but no matter; blackmail is more pleasing to me anyhow. "But as such, manipulation is not necessary."

A knock on the door just as I had instructed Namari who would have been attentive in listening in on the entire conversation and I turn towards the door as do the eyes of the Hawthornes, watching the traitor that is my granddaughter walk in. Her face is void of emotion, but her eyes have some sort of destroyed gleam to them that I can sense as dread and yet knowledge of what she must do. It contrasts with her hot pink hair of a normal eighteen year old Capitolite girl, hiding her true identity from the world. And yet I prefer it this way; she no longer deserves the telltale white of a Snow, the destiny that should have been hers.

"What are you doing here?" he questions her, a sense of gloom to his tone. Perhaps he believes that I kidnapped her as well? Well not for much longer if Penelope does her job.

"Mr. Hawthorne, I'd like you to meet Leta, your bride to be." I announce but he shakes his head as he stares at her.

"That's crap. Come on Penny, I know you're in there. You don't want to do this." He tells her as his wife squeezes his hand desperately from behind. It does surprise me that he knows this is Penelope and not Leta or the Vibia girl that Alma had her parading around as, but perhaps it shouldn't; Alma had told me that Penelope's controlling substance was wearing off, but I hadn't realized just how much. Perhaps I should have sent her some of the real medicine to use in District 13, but it's too late for this now.

"I'm not being manipulated, Gale. I'm fine." Penelope answers, fighting her biting her tongue as to not tell her true motives for this. Good girl.

"They're doing this to you." The girl warns, shaking her head. They don't want to believe, they don't want Penelope to be a traitor. As such, it makes this so much better. Well done, Penelope.

"No." she shakes her head. "This is for the best."

"You can't possibly believe that! You yourself told us this!" Mrs. Hawthorne yells at her unbelievingly and I fight to quirk a disapproving eyebrow at Penelope. Did she now? Unsurprising, but she must pay for this one. She seems to know it too because she avoids my gaze but tenses up slightly.

"It's what's best for grandfather. I shall see you soon." Penelope answers though it sounds like she's biting on nails to say so before looking at me for a gesture to leave and I nod my head at the door, giving her a look that we must talk later about said information she had given the chess pieces. Once she leaves, peacekeepers enter and surround the room, two going over to the family cowering by my desk together. They take a hold of the man and he fights it but fails as they take his knife and pull him to the other side of the room. Once they do I stop them and speak.

"So you see Mr. Hawthorne, this wedding must go on. Now it is your choice." I graciously ask him, but he glares at me.

"Still no." he spits, struggling against the peacekeepers to no avail.

"Well then, let me put the situation in terms you might understand then, Mr. Hawthorne. You do this wedding or your wife and daughter will be…let us say, made cannons in an arena." I give him his choices as he glares at me, but clearly realizing the blackmail. He looks to his family where his wife is pushing their daughter behind her for protection as tears roll down her eyes though she is shaking her head at him, the girl seemingly paying much attention but confused. She's a smart girl but she does not seem to realize exactly what is going on here. Perhaps she is trying to compare the man I have been to her and the one I am now, but I can easily fix this assessment in a bit. It will only be a few more minutes I'm certain.

"I'll do it."

"Gale…" his wife calls, horrified and yet understanding. She just appears not to like it, as she shouldn't.

"You know I have to." He closes his eyes before painfully looking at his family again before the peacekeepers lead him out, off to where I like him. Because this is exactly what is meant to happen, exactly in the plans.

Check.

Namari's POV

"Get in there, you brat. Your grandfather will deal with you later." I hiss at that girl I've hated for a long time, Penelope. I always suspected that she was on her father's side with the rebels but Snow didn't want to believe me. Took me a full day to convince him of it and she's showing her true colors now, of that I'm happy. Never liked the girl at all and I'm glad she's going to get what's coming to her soon enough.

I push her into a small room where she's staying for the moment and I turn around to find two of my personal peacekeepers that do my business for me there, a man strikingly similar to the one that was just led away from Snow's office bound and held by them.

"Well who do we have here?" I question them with a smirk, eyeing the man as I tap my chin.

"Soldier Rory Hawthorne, brother of Gale Hawthorne." One of them informs me and I smile.

"Coin's man thoroughly. Tried to get to her when we picked him up and he's been mumbling her name ever since." The other one tells me and I assess the unconscious man more thoroughly who is held up by the two of them. Hmm, interesting indeed.

"Is he now?" I question aloud.

"Should we kill him?"

I think and then get an idea, shaking my head at his question. Snow was looking for someone and I think I've found the perfect candidate. "Put him in the dungeon. We may have use for him yet."


	40. Blackmail

Katniss's POV

I can't believe this. How did we end up here? Our plans might have not gone exactly how they should have and maybe we were a little unprepared, but never had I thought it would end like this. I mean Snow wanted us in his mansion? Really? He clearly had this all planned, I'm just angry for not catching on sooner. At myself mostly, but also Snow. And Coin for that matter, because she has to have something to do with this after all. She may not have known that Gale was fine (or maybe she did since Snow knew), but from what I can tell this stupid wedding thing is her plan. Did Boggs know and that's why he pretended to help us? As much as I want to say no and before yesterday I would have told you that was ridiculous, I have to come to terms that it's a possibility.

As miserable as things have been before, I've never felt so defeated as I am now. I feel like…I've been used, played with. A toy that Presidents can move or discard of however they please. It's not the best feeling in the world, that's for sure. And no how matter much I know that Gale is just their toy too and he's only going with it because he has no other choice if he's going to protect Kennie and I, I'm still angry with it. I loathe it and moreso, I already know there's not much I can do about it. Not from here anyway, locked away in a room with no one but Kennie when they don't have her away doing god knows what and alone save for the peacekeepers always attentive in watching my every move.

It also doesn't help that Snow has genuinely been treating Kennie right as far as I can tell though that sounds bad. It doesn't really make a ton of sense, because even if he wanted Kennie for blackmail of some sort for Gale (which was unfortunately achieved), why would he care how she was treated? Why would it even matter to him that she be given the best of everything? She's not his child and I don't think he even particularly likes her, especially after her private session less than a year ago. It also doesn't help that even when I try to remind her of that she just doesn't want to listen, going with how she's being treated now. I would suspect that he's changed her mind somehow on those events but I really don't think he has.

"Hi mommy!" her voice breaks me out of my silent deep thinking, and I have to blink a few times before my vision clears and she's in front of me, waiting for a hug. I give her one quickly but as soon as she's out of it, her new stylist gently takes her arm and pulls her across the room where they quickly start undressing her only to redress her. I sigh, but once I see that it's a particularly fancy dress with lace and everything I question it.

"Where's she going?" I ask the stylist but she just ignores me at first as she zips up the dress, adjusting it.

Huffing in frustration, I go over and stop the stylist by putting my hand on her shoulder as she freezes and looks up at me. "Where is she going?" I repeat again, but the stylist stands up and doesn't look at me.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you." She says quietly before taking a few steps to get shoes for Kennie.

"You can't tell me?" I half shriek. "Don't you think I have the right to know where my daughter's going?" I certainly think I do, but these people are ridiculous.

"Calm yourself Mrs. Hawthorne, Makenna will be safe and sound." That awful man's voice assures me with faux sweetness as he gently guides Makenna to the door with her stylist, not even letting me say goodbye. But I'm not just going to sit here without answers; it's bad enough that I have absolutely no idea what's going on and I'm stuck here while Gale has to do god knows what for this stupid shame wedding with that betrayer Penny.

"I'm her mother; I think I'm in the right to not be calm under the circumstances." I remind him, but he just smiles at me and gestures to the couch for me to sit. Curiosity overtakes me and I do, waiting for him to speak and desperately wishing there was any way I could kill him right now without being killed in turn by the many peacekeepers in here. It would certainly solve a lot of my problems.

"You will always be her mother, but you must remember that you do what I say now. And that includes dear Makenna." Snow informs me as I grip a pillow instead of his throat. What is that even supposed to mean? I wasn't partial to any blackmail; I am the blackmail.

"What do you even want from me? You're already forcing my husband to marry someone else and you have me locked away in here to wither away." I question him, exasperated.

"I never said that you would be locked in here forever." He answers frankly, but I don't see what difference that could make. It seems pretty obvious to me that's his intent. "Just when it's convenient."

"And when would it not be convenient? When I'm eighty?" I reply sarcastically, not even trying to play nice. It's not like I have much of a reason to.

To my annoyance he laughs at my response before sitting down in the chair across from me. "Oh no, I assure you it will be much sooner than that. In three days time, actually."

"What's in three days?" I ask, though I feel like I really don't want to know.

"Why the wedding, of course!"

"What?" I spit out with wide eyes, completely caught off guard and irate. Three days! How could they even plan a wedding that fast in the Capitol? Let alone the fact that we're in the middle of a freaking war! I thought it would be at least a month from now or something, that Coin would at least try to pretend that she's going to rescue us. They could have had time to figure out something to stop it. What the hell is going on?

"Oh yes, it will be a marvelous event. And having it right in the middle of a war will show Panem that we aren't afraid, that we aren't worried." He assures me with a sick smile. "If they even want to continue fighting at all once they see your husband's betrayal."

I just sit there letting it process and I can feel myself getting angrier by the second. Of course it makes sense where he's coming from. He thinks that since it will look like Gale is leaving me and Kennie for some Capitol girl that all of Panem will be angry at him, and therefore they will forget that we're in the middle of a war. They'll try to end him on my behalf, is that really what Snow's getting at? But even to me it seems like stupid logic.

"One wedding isn't going to stop a war. There's still plenty of reasons to fight." I eventually break the silence, but he gives me a wry, knowing smile.

"Precisely." He exclaims, and I know he's not telling me everything. He has a plan and it has nothing to do with a wedding stopping the war or anything. What is he trying to do? Buy time? "And now for the way you my dear will be convenient at this event."

"If you think I'm going to say that I hate him, think again. I could always tell the whole of Panem the truth." I warn him, but he seems unfazed by it.

"And where would that land you, do you think?" he questions my logic without hesitance. "Ten years ago I told you that I could not kill him for my own solutions, but I assure you the times have changed. One death of a Victor now will not make too much difference in this war."

My mouth drops open though I don't know why I'm so surprised. I should have known that the blackmail could easily be reversed back to me.

"Come to think of it, I might actually prefer that option." He muses, but all I can do is try not to murder him right here with my bare hands. It's a tantalizing offer to tell the entire world the truth and he wants it, but he knows I would never do it. I would never in a million years be the reason that Gale dies.

"This is fun for you, isn't it?" I glare at him, practically hissing. "Destroying people's lives."

"Am I really?" he raises an eyebrow at me in question, but I'm tired of playing his games.

"You always do. Mine, Gale's, Makenna's, our families and districts and all of Panem!" I half shout at him but it doesn't even break his amused gaze on me, and this only proves to vex me further.

"I assure you it has never been my intent to destroy dear Makenna." He informs me. "Quite the opposite, actually."

"What do you call putting her in the arena? Or kidnapping her and killing Johanna probably right in front of her? Or keeping her here!" I yell at him in exasperation. Does he really not see what he's doing?

"Makenna was always going to be safe in the arena, of this I assure you. She's much more useful alive." He tells me and I shake my head in anger. Of course, it was exactly as Gale and I figured out.

"Because she was too popular to kill and because she's only seven years old?" I guess because I already know I'm probably right.

"Among other reasons." He confirms. "Which leads me to this one, your job in three days. Exude anger and hurt at your husband and I assure you that he will not be killed. Simple enough?"

"A double blackmail. This is fun for you." I ignore his statement, going for sarcasm.

Instead of denying it like he usually does, he just grins at me as he stands and adjusts his jacket. "Why of course, Mrs. Hawthorne. All masters at this game do indeed have a marvelous time moving the pieces as they please."

And with that he leaves the room and me in a silent brooding, and wondering just what the hell he's doing exactly. It's almost frightening that after all this time I can't even begin to figure it out.

Gale's POV

"Are the handcuffs really necessary?" I ask dryly, the damn things ridiculously tight and uncomfortable on my wrists. Maybe I should tell him it will look bad in the fucking ceremony later today. Honestly, I don't know why I'm here in the first place. Snow isn't really one to gloat and he already knows I don't give a shit about the place or the decorations. The sole reason I'm even doing this shit is so he doesn't kill the two people I love most.

"Just a precaution." He waves it off lazily, gesturing for me to follow him on a balcony near the alter, a story up from the ground. Plush red chairs are already in place on this side and the matching balcony directly across from it matches. He stops in the middle and turns to face me. "This here is the presidential balcony, of which I will be seated in mere hours as well as Katniss and Makenna."

Oh joy, they get to be part of this mess too? It's bad enough Katniss knows I have to do this, I'd rather she not have to watch it at least. Couldn't Snow at least give her that small mercy? No, of course not, look who I'm talking about.

"Better for the show?" I guess darkly, frowning.

"A reminder to you." He responds and points towards the balcony on the other side of the room. "Over there will be the best snipers I have in my service. Should you for one moment appear to be unhappy or not pleased with your circumstances, just a mere nod of my head and they shoot."

"And what of the guests? You know they'll know something's off." I try, looking for any way possible out of this. But of course, he's already thought of this. Fucking prepared bastard.

"Precisely why the guns are silenced and the cameras will not be on us." Snow informs me. "I assure you Mr. Hawthorne, everything today will go as planned but much depends on you. No one has to die today."

"What do you even get out of this? And it can't just be fucking with my life for some stupid revenge." I ask, the question burning in me for a long time now, specifically for the last week or whatever it's been since I was forced into the actual situation.

"No it is not just that, though it is a side benefit." He exclaims. "I assure you Mr. Hawthorne that all my plans are falling into place and this wedding is a part of that."

"So you're going to tell me nothing but that." I state sarcastically, wondering why I thought he would tell me in the first place. Sure there's the whole 'we're not going to lie to each other' thing but it's not like I tell him all of our plans either.

He chuckles lightly as he places his hand on the balcony edge, smoothing the surface. "I did not become President by revealing all my plans to anyone, Mr. Hawthorne."

Fair enough, though I wish I could just figure it out. What the fuck does he even get out of this? What the hell does he get out of this wedding besides making me miserable?

"Ah, I believe it is time for you to get ready. I shall be awaiting your performance."

Yeah, it will sure be a performance, that's for sure.

Finnick's POV

Of all the things I thought could happen when Katniss and Gale left here about a week ago, getting captured somehow certainly wasn't one of them. This stupid wedding actually occurring wasn't one either. How the hell did it even get to that?

Since my leg is still crap though I've been trying to walk with Effie's help (when she's not out and about doing whatever, sometimes things for the rebels I think), I've mostly been watching the television for the news. And news it is, with a flurry of wedding details and all. They've had interviews and everything, and it's a wonder this is all happening in the middle of a war.

There are two interviews that stick out in my mind though. One would be Kennie's, where she was put in some fancy dress and seen crying in the background while someone I don't recognize talked on her behalf, saying how wrong it was. To be honest I don't think Kennie even knew why she was crying, but I could only tell because I know her well enough. Most other people would legitimately believe that she was depressed and confused as to why her father was marrying another girl.

The second was of all people, the bride. And it's really Penny, with her pink hair from District 13 and all. She plays the part so well that I'm almost certain that she's been manipulated with whatever it is that Coin always had injected in her again, this time with the name Leta attached to the pink hair. I feel so bad for her because somehow I already know that this poor girl was probably sent here by Coin herself for this role. If she was herself at all she wouldn't be acting like this, she's not that type of girl.

"Has it started yet?" Effie calls from the kitchen, her heels clicking as she moves around doing whatever.

"No, just about though." I call back as she comes to the living room and sits down on the plush chair. I'm desperate for a glance of anyone familiar, but so far it's just Capitolites. Not all of them seem particularly happy to be there probably because they're pissed at Gale, but in general the mood seems to be pleased to have something exciting happen in a war. It's a party, a celebration nonetheless. Stupid shallow Capitolites.

And just when Snow comes on the screen waving at the crowd below from his balcony, I catch a face in the corner of the television. And it's pissed and hurt at the same time, arms crossed and clearly not wanted to be there.

"Is that" Effie begins, but I cut her off.

"Katniss?" I conclude for her, both of us gaping. Is he fucking serious? That's a low blow, having Katniss there to have to watch it. He must really want people to hate Gale.

I entirely miss the rest of the browsing of the crowd and most of the bridesmaids walking down the aisle because I'm too busy trying to figure this out when the camera focuses on Gale's face as the wedding march begins in the background. And he looks…overjoyed. What? but then they do a close up and I can sense that something is off in his eyes. Though he's smiling and anticipating the entrance of the bride, his eyes seem more or less half dead and angry. He's trying his best to hide it but it's there, and suddenly I understand.

"Blackmail." I mutter my solution out loud. Of course. Snow probably told him to act happy or he'll kill Katniss or something, hence the reason she's probably there. As a reminder.

"You think?" Effie questions me, clearly not wanting to believe it but all the same knowing it's possible. She's still a Capitolite at heart I think, but she tries so hard to be a rebel.

"I know."

And the wedding continues much to my annoyance, the ceremony continuing though the crowd doesn't look too happy. But the bride and groom certainly are, and the priest continues with the vows. But then I hear a shriek in the background and all of a sudden soldiers are marching down the aisle, right towards the alter.

And in the lead is none other than President Coin herself.


	41. Madness

Gale's POV

I can honestly say that I've never been so happy to see Coin in my entire life. Even if I knew that she wanted this wedding to happen and I know that she's just as bad as Snow if not worse, actually having to go through with it is not something I was enjoying in the least. It also didn't help that Katniss and Kennie were up there with President Snow, snipers ready and aimed to shoot them if Snow decided that I wasn't doing a good job. I tried so hard not to look up there but the anguish in Katniss's very posture was enough to almost break me. She knew I certainly didn't want this, but she also knew I didn't have much of a choice. So Coin's barging in definitely feels like relief to me.

"This right here…this is madness." Coin states as she gestures to Penny and I at the altar. For once I actually agree with her. "And you must know why this is possible, Panem."

Oh god, was this really her plan? To tell everyone the truth or some lie? I glance up to the balcony where Katniss and Kennie were right next to Snow and find that Snow has been surrounded by rebel soldiers, Katniss taking Kennie's hand and leaving the balcony. I hold back a sigh of relief that the shooters didn't shoot them if they're still up there at all. Maybe they can escape this madness.

"You see, I President Coin, the President of District 13 have had Gale Hawthorne in my care for several months now, ever since he was rescued. And you have to know something; he was changed in the Capitol between the time President Snow captured him from the last arena and that time." She begins.

Murmurs go through the crowd, some shocked and some angry. Coin lets them simmer down a little before she picks up again, clearly enjoying the drama though that surprises me. She was always a no nonsense person, but she is related to Snow; guess that love for flair and putting on a good show is a family trait though she hides it better.

"You see, this man here was not only physically tortured, but his mind was twisted as well. The Capitol succeeded in making this man forget his wife and child, and they also gave him a love potion to love this young lady here." she informs as soldiers surround the two of us, but neither of us move. The first part of her statement is right, but the second is bullshit. I'm sure that's what she thinks was supposed to happen since she clearly still believes that's what happened to me. It was Snow's original plan, he told me as much.

"And why did no one tell us?" and "Wrong!" and "What's going on?" fill the place, the shouts of the guests protest and I have to say I'm sort of impressed. But I don't actually know where's she's going with this so it makes me a bit nervous. It can't be because she's on my side, that's for sure.

"No one told you because these two here wanted to keep it secret. While the love potion was administered, it wore off long ago. I kept Mr. Hawthorne away as long as I could, but he escaped and came here anyway." Coin tells them, and I roll my eyes.

"That's not true." I protest and she looks back to me.

"Lying will get you nowhere." She shakes her head and turns to the crowd. "The truth is, these two have conspired against us! They are not rebels at all and they wish to continue with President Snow's reign! Why do you think he had this wedding in the first place? He's their puppets!"

Anger and shouts of outrage come from both the Capitolites and the soldiers now, and I have to applaud her for making this up. It's completely untrue but effective nonetheless.

"That's not true!" Penny cries, but her voice is drowned out by the soldiers. They're all yelling to lock her away, some to kill her. They all know her as the girl Vibia who helped the rebels and now they feel betrayed. It's exactly as she feared and I wonder just why she did this of her own free will. Maybe she didn't think Coin would actually be able to stop this? I don't know.

But the shouts and threats aren't only at her either. They're at me too, and I start backing up as they come towards me, shouting how wrong it is I'm doing this to my family, how it would be better if I was killed rather than to be someone's puppet. Damn, didn't see that coming.

"Calm down!" Coin demands authoritatively, a microphone making her voice heard loud and clear over the shouts somehow. Once the shouts simmer down to whispers, she begins speaking again. "I assure you that your cries will be answered, as long as no one has any protests."

"I do!" I hear a voice I know better than my own shout desperately as she runs towards me and I struggle with the soldier that is grasping my arm, holding her to me as she comes.

"What are you doing?" I whisper to her, alarmed.

But she doesn't answer me, just gives me a quick look that tells me don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It doesn't have the confidence it should but it's pleading for me to not question her. A mere second later when she's satisfied I'll do whatever she needs she turns to face the crowd, glaring at Coin for a second before speaking to the audience amassed.

"While what some of what President Coin has said is true, it's not so anymore." She begins, and takes my hand in hers. "Gale is fine and does remember me and our daughter."

Angry confused murmurings go through the crowd, most of what I can tell having the effect that I'm a bastard now or something. Great Katniss, where are you going with this now? She squeezes my hand in assurance with a pointed look and I glance to Coin, seeing her own face covered in baffledness and almost going pale. Oh right, the whole show Coin when it's convenient thing. I had just assumed since Snow obviously knew and they were working together she already knew. Guess they really don't tell each other everything, because I highly doubt Snow saw this one coming.

But I think it's time I explain myself to the crowd. "I am fine now, but you have to know I would have never done this under free will." I inform them, my desperate tone and pleading eyes hopefully enough to make them believe me. "I was blackmailed by Snow. He threatened to kill Katniss and Makenna if I didn't do this and make it look good."

The effect on the crowd is instantaneous; most seem to believe me luckily, as it seems that having Katniss claiming it's true and the fact that I doubt many people would put it past Snow to blackmail someone even though most of them never had the 'opportunity' to talk to him personally. Or at least the soldiers seem to believe that. The Capitolites appear to have a harder time with that, but seem relieved that I really do love who I'm supposed to.

But they're still mad at Penny, who seems to sense this as she lets out a desperate cry. "Snow blackmailed me too! I never wanted this."

They unfortunately, don't seem to believe her with good reason. First of all, most of these soldiers seem to know her as Vibia and are mad that she's not who she's supposed to be. And the Capitolites seem to just shake their heads at her, not understanding what Snow could possibly have against her. What could he have against her? Was she really blackmailed or is she just making it up?"

"She's lying." Coin addresses it, clearly thinking that leaving Katniss and I alone on our matter seems the best way to go for now. I'm certainly fine with that and think this is our time to leave. I nudge Katniss's shoulder subtly with mine and that's enough to tell her that we should make our quiet exit somehow. "This girl's name is not Leta or Vibia as some of my soldiers know her as. This right here, is Penelope Herod, Snow's granddaughter."

In the chaos that follows the announcement I pull us back, trying to go behind the soldiers, allowing the attention to be on them.

"It's true! I am Penny, but I'm not lying about being blackmailed!" Penny tries to defend herself, desperate to make them listen. "But I hate Snow! He killed my father because he was a rebel and so am I so he tortured me!"

"It's true." A soldier near us says, and I freeze in place, knowing the cameras will be near us again. "I knew Herod and he disappeared one night. Never heard from him again."

This soldier must be from the Capitol originally, perhaps one of the rebels here that came with Plutarch during the breakout because they seem to believe him more than Penny.

"But he didn't actually kill him, and told me he would if I didn't do this! I don't love Gale and I never did, promise!" Penny adds.

The commotion continues and Katniss pulls me away, towards one of the halls. We seem to make our escape without anyone seeing. Relieved to be free and out of that situation, I press her against the wall and my lips easily find hers, meeting in a grateful, joyful kiss.

"Thank god." She whispers between another kiss, but I stop it, forcing her to look at me.

"We're not done here. We're not safe yet." I remind her bitterly. It's true that this thing is done and that we can finally live normally again when it comes to being married and in love, but the trouble isn't over. "Coin will most likely be in charge now, but we know that's not good."

"What was her plan anyway? It can't be much different than if she did know you were fine."

"True, but at least it seemed to stop her from going further. You saw what she was trying to do to Penny." I answer grimly. She didn't necessarily say it, but she wanted Panem angry at both of us. I honestly don't know what she would get out of me being dead, but I don't really want to find out.

"So we still have to stop her." Katniss concludes, and I nod. I don't know how at the moment but at least we seem to have Snow off our list for the moment of worries. Not much he can do from a jail cell or wherever Coin's going to keep him until his most likely execution. Dealing with one dictator at a time seems a much better route for us.

"Let's hopefully try to get in touch with Finn and Beetee and see if they have any ideas." I suggest, and she nods in agreement as I kiss her again quickly. "Where's Kennie?" I ask, guiltily just now remembering that Katniss was with her before she left the balcony.

"With Mrs. Undersee. I figured it wouldn't be good for her to see that." She replies and I raise an eyebrow which she of course understands. "She was here when I was taken to Kennie's room. She didn't really tell me details except that she had been kept here to take care of Kennie until I came."

Well that's certainly interesting. I had wondered what happened to the Undersees, but I didn't think they'd be here. Must have been captured or something when District 12 was bombed, or maybe even when they put the mayor under house arrest after the last reaping.

"At least we should be alright now." I hope, and with a smile she takes my hand and leads me away to our daughter, hopefully the beginning of a more peaceful life.

You know, once we get rid of the next dictator.

Snow's POV

There are chains on my ankles and wrists, but it's not entirely unpleasant for me. Alma put me in my rose garden, probably to show that a President is still a President no matter if they are imprisoned or not. A good idea on her part, but unfortunately for her one she will never have the opportunity to have in turn on her should anyone attempt to overthrow her.

It had gone splendidly, the wedding. In all honesty, I'm quite surprised that Alma did not barge in sooner. I had made it very clear to Namari to make certain that it wasn't too difficult to interrupt for them. Not easy enough to give it away, but enough to accomplish their goal. And now the next phase of my plan is in place, and my favorite part of the game. This always was the point in time when Alma lost a chess game, when I allowed her to believe she was winning. She never double checked anything and always was blindsided when I overthrew her once again.

Since I have little to do here but wait for my plans to unfold, I make do with admiring the flowers and to my surprise this time, find someone else in the room.

"I had thought that your Aunt would have locked you up by now for your own safety from the crowds." I comment to her, capturing her attention.

"I'm safe enough here from the crowds. It's her that needs the safety when her real plans are revealed." She replies without anger, hiding her true emotions well under her mask. Perhaps I have taught her something well.

"Ah, so you do know of her plans. I had wondered." I muse. I thought about questioning her but even with the blackmail did not believe she would tell me anything at all. I had assumed Alma had alternative plans, but I was certain that whatever they happened to be I could overthrow them.

She stares at me for a moment before her hurt rage comes through. "You lied to me. He was a damn mutt and you blackmailed me anyway!"

Ah so she finally figured it out. I wonder who told her the truth or showed her that it was indeed a mutt instead of her traitorous father. Not that it matters much. "It was for the best."

"For the best?" she spits out, unbelieving. "It's always 'for the best' for you. Everything. All my life I've had to do everything that's 'for the best' for me because of your requests!" she's almost shaking now, recalling what she believes I've done wrong to her. "My 'friends' only wanted to be my friends because of you. How I never got a true childhood because of all your rules and stupid events! I don't even know what my real hair color is!"

She seems genuinely upset about that last one, such a trivial thing. But I might as well give her the truth because it doesn't make a difference. Perhaps she will do my bidding again one day if I tell her such. With a sigh, I answer. "Your hair is blonde Penelope, just like your mother's. It was not dyed until you were two years old, there are pictures for proof if you'd like them in my office."

She seems satisfied to have an answer to that and continues. "Well it's good to know."

She doesn't speak again for a while, toying with some of the flowers deep in thought. Eventually I bring her out of her daydream. "So have you come here to rescue your dear grandfather?" I question her more to amuse myself than anything; I hardly believe it's true.

She rolls her eyes at me before staring knowingly. "Why would I do that? It was your plan to be here anyway."

I chuckle at her lightly. "You honestly believe it was my plan to be overthrown?" I shake my head with a smile. "I always knew you were a bit different, but I didn't think you were mad."

But she's not laughing or blushing. "I heard Namari in the next room to my 'cell' before the wedding. She and a few peacekeepers were using what I suspect was tracker jacker venom on your captured assassin of choice."

"Penelope-" I protest, but she interrupts me.

"You're planning to kill Coin at some assembly with him, changing his mind. And then he's supposed to kill the Hawthornes too. His own brother and sister-in-law! And in turn be killed by someone else I'd guess."

"And tell me, dear, what purpose would it serve to kill the Hawthornes?" I question her simply to see what she knows. I don't deny it's the truth, it is my plan. She is a Snow; she's smarter than she appears. I would know.

"Oh I don't know, maybe so you can take Makenna for your own in my place. To be your next little brainwashed dictator since you failed with me." She guesses correctly with a hard tone. I see she has not been confused by my actions as most people have. Of course this girl does know me better than them though she would most likely deny it.

"Oh yes, my dear, all part of the plan." I give her a smile. I don't deny it, it's the truth. Makenna Hawthorne is popular and young, I could easily bring her up to be the next President that acts as I would like. I won't live forever, no matter Capitol medicine. And Penelope is correct that it should have been her own place but it's improbable for me to allow that now. She's too much a rebel, too much her father.

But to my surprise, her hand goes to the back of her jacket and out comes a gun. Where did she even get that? Certainly not from Alma, she wouldn't dare trust her with it.

"Is this part of your plan?" she questions me with a smirk, a death glare in her eyes.

"You wouldn't kill me, Penelope." I chuckle, but even I cannot seem to hide the nervousness.

"Watch me."


	42. Shots

Katniss's POV

"Why are we here?" I question Coin as Gale and I walk hand-in-hand into the room, both of us stopping when we see the large round oak table already half filled with familiar faces. We had received a summons from one of Coin's lackey's just an hour ago that we were needed for a vitally important meeting. Knowing that we had no choice, we left Kennie in Effie's care and she promised to bring her to the assembly that was going to be later this afternoon, we assumed after this meeting. But whatever we thought it would possibly be, I didn't expect this.

"Please sit." She commands instead of answering, turning towards a board and begins writing something on it. Not knowing what else to do, I pull Gale with me and sit next to Finnick, who gives me a confused smile. He came here as soon as the whole wedding debacle was over with Effie, his leg not quite better but he's not in such immense pain anymore. He promised that he would get it checked out by a real doctor when he got here and now it's bound up in wraps, a cane at his side to help him walk.

I look around the room to find that whatever this is, it's quite clearly a meeting of Victors; or at least what's probably left of us. It seems to be Gale and I, Finnick, Beetee, Carper, Haymitch, and Cashmere, back in all her glory. I realize that all the other Victors who are not here are clearly dead from either the Mentor Room after the breakout or during the war somehow, like Nelia or Johanna. It's sad that after how many of us there were this is all that's left.

"Welcome Victors." Coin finally greets us, observing our curious, wary faces. It's been two weeks since she stopped the wedding and basically took over, the war over with Snow's capture. It seemed to be enough to end any of the Capitol resistance anyway. I'm glad the war is over, but something aside from the fact that I know Coin is not a good person to run this country is telling me that this meeting can't be good. "I have gathered you all here today because you have a very important decision to make. As the last remaining Victors, the people of Panem look up to you still as the strongest, as role models. And therefore, I am asking you to listen and choose wisely for the good of Panem of what I am offering."

Oh this can't be good. I don't need to know Coin is a manipulator and a horrible person to know this is a load of crap. She doesn't care about Victors, not really. Not unless we can give her something she wants. In fact, I wouldn't doubt if she would happily have all of us here at the table 'exposed of' so that she is the only role model there is for Panem. Gale squeezes my hand under the table and I already know he's thinking the same thing I am. I'd hope all of us here are, but maybe people like Cashmere don't know or care. But either way, no one speaks, all of us waiting for whatever it is that Coin wants us to do to be told to us. If Coin's intimidated by us she doesn't show it.

"What I am asking you, as the role models of Panem, is to make this crucial decision of which I will go with whatever you all decide. Panem is grieving from the war, grieving from the loss and all of what the Capitol has done to them. What I am proposing is having a new Hunger Games with all Capitol children, those of officials and higher ups mostly. I believe this last Hunger Games will allow the country to grieve and give the Capitol a piece of their own medicine, to show them exactly what the rest of Panem has gone through for all these years. Please vote now, I will go with the majority and tell Panem at the assembly later what you have decided." Coin declares, and all I can do is stare at her. I knew about this, Finnick had told me, Penny had told me, but it's still somehow more real hearing it come straight out of Coin's mouth.

"I vote no. Giving the country more violence is not going to heal anything. We need to rebuild, to help each other out. Not put our efforts into revenge that will not heal anyone." Beetee is the first to vote, and I have to agree with him. He's right, and though the offer is tempting…to make them see what I have gone through, what Gale has, even Makenna, it's still not right.

"Well I vote yes. Snow's a bastard and I wouldn't mind seeing that Penny in that arena. She is eighteen still, right?" Cashmere votes with a wicked smile before I can, and I stare at her. Why am I not surprised she would vote yes? She is a Career after all, and I know from Gale that Cashmere had to do the appointments, probably still was up until the Games last year. But Penny…even if I hate that she was going to marry Gale and she is Snow's granddaughter, I wouldn't wish that fate on her. Coin may be her aunt but I can't see her caring if her niece dies; she'd probably prefer that.

"No. Absolutely no." Carper butts in, and Finnick nods and agrees with him. That's four votes right there, three no and one yes. All that needs to happen is for Haymitch, Gale, or I to vote no and it's a sound no. But…we need a plan to take down Coin, and that means at least for the moment she has to be on our side. Or at least think we're on her side. We can always take her down before that actually happens, the Games, and we have some semblance of a plan, courtesy of Beetee. He's going to show a clip of Coin telling Penny all of her plans when Coin undoubtedly executes Snow, one that he secretly brought with him to the Capitol. Apparently he was one step ahead of us the whole time.

"Yes." I vote next, and most of the table looks at me in shock. Quick Katniss, come up with an explanation…

"Yes. For Makenna. She never should have gone through with that and this is for her." Gale saves me with a determined frown, and hopefully that means he knows what I'm doing instead of just going with me.

"Three and three then. It's up to you Abernathy." Coin nods, and we all look towards Haymitch who fidgets, clearly not liking the spotlight, but he looks to all of our faces and I give him a quick pleading look with my eyes that I hope Coin misses and he shrugs before answering.

"I'm with them." He declares, nodding towards Gale and I. "For squirt."

"What? But Haymitch, you-" Finnick begins protesting angrily and seeming to be hurt, clearly thinking we're all insane now. Maybe he even thinks that Coin has somehow manipulated us too. But he wasn't there when we were making plans because his leg was getting fixed up, and I can only hope he doesn't give anything away.

"Enough, Soldier Odair. The vote has been decided and the Capitol Hunger Games will be put on." Coin interrupts him, seeming satisfied with the outcome. Much too satisfied. How can anyone not tell that this is what she wants? She clearly wants these Games to happen but any anger or blame will be put on us Victors and not her. It's a brilliant move, and one I hope doesn't bite us in the butt. "You all may leave now, but be sure to be in your seats for the assembly in one hour."

With that dismissal, we all stand up, Cashmere leaving without a word with a satisfied smile on her face and Carper wheeling himself away, talking to Beetee as they discuss their disappointment bitterly. Finnick goes before Gale and I and stops once we all turn the corner, turning around to stop us with a betrayed frown gracing his features.

"What the hell?" Finnick hisses, clearly angry with us. He didn't expect us to say yes in the least, of that I'm certain. "You two of all people were the last ones I would have thought would say yes to that crap. You know it won't be the last games, that she's just gonna do more."

"Finn, relax, we know what we're doing." Gale tries to comfort him, make him understand.

"Really? Do you want the country to know that we are responsible for this?" Finnick shakes his head.

"No, but she can't know we plan on taking her down. Beetee's plan will be taking place soon probably, whenever Snow's execution will be." I assure him.

"Did you ever think that maybe that won't be until after these Games?" he questions us, and Gale and I look at each other. No, I hadn't thought of that. Why wouldn't Coin want to take him out as soon as possible so there's no reason for her to be questioned as the new President of Panem? Why leave it to chance? "She may want him to see it, what he's done."

"You're right." Gale concedes, though I still think killing him sooner rather than later would be best. But maybe Coin is conceited enough to believe that she needs to show up her brother before he dies. "But we can't do anything about that now. Could Beetee show that video at the assembly?"

"I can ask him to, but he may not have enough time to prepare." Finnick sighs, clearly still bitter about our votes.

"Then we'll improvise." I decide, knowing that between all of us surely we can come up with something, right?

Turns out our improvising skills are never able to even be discussed, because no sooner than the three of us turn the next corner Peacekeepers are there to escort us to our seats, as they want us Victors there way beforehand so that we're 'safe' from any of Snow's supporters left. I highly doubt it's necessary, but there's not much we can do about it at this point so we follow them.

Luckily Effie is already there with Kennie once we get to where the assembly is set up, and Gale and I distract ourselves with talking to her and listening to her go on about what she's done with Effie so that we aren't tempted to talk about what to do about Coin when it's not safe. It's at least good that she is safe and happy now, because really that's what matters most to me. But to keep her that way I know it means bringing Coin down, and I still can't find a way to do that without the whole country knowing about us Victor's deciding on another Hunger Games, more likely than not with Penny as a tribute. She's not in a cell or anything, but there's still a whole lot of animosity towards her anyway from the country for not only being a Snow, but because of the whole wedding thing. And even if I felt betrayed by her before, I still feel bad that I know it will be her fate. We've already lost so many people, I don't know how many more I can afford to lose of people I know anymore.

The worst by far is my mother, who was in Rye Mellark's squad as a medic. The squad was caught in a pod of some sort, one that swallowed up the entire street. I didn't ask for details, but it was quite obvious from the soldier who informed me that I probably didn't want to know. Madge is beside herself losing Rye, especially now that she's a widow with four children, one a mere infant. It's good that she has Mr. Mellark and her mother is still alive though.

I never had a good relationship with my mother, but it still hurts me more than I imagined to lose her. Prim was so upset when I called her and told her, as she was far closer to our mother than I ever was. Which is the main reason I've told her nothing about Rory. No one has seen or heard from him since he left us at Effie's weeks ago, and I can only assume the worst has happened to him. I know it affects Gale more than he lets on, but I wouldn't dare tell Prim our suspicions just yet. She's already grieving our mother and the mere thought of telling my pregnant sister that she doesn't have a husband anymore either when I don't know that for certain doesn't appeal to me, though I know I'll have to tell her eventually. If she hasn't figured it out already, that is.

Gale and I haven't even brought ourselves to tell Kennie about either of them yet, and I honestly don't think we will for a while yet. It may make us cowards but I don't care at the moment. Protecting her for a little while longer sounds better to me for now, she's gone through so much. She doesn't deserve to go through more and I'm going to make certain she doesn't, starting with Coin.

Gale's POV

"Greetings Panem. I, President Coin, have an announcement to make. We are grieving and most of us still have resentment and anger towards the Capitol and the former President Snow, still feeling the after affects of war and the fighting. And while the fighting has ended and a new era is beginning, we must begin this right." Coin begins as I grip my chair, desperately trying to keep a mask on my face that doesn't show my anger. Though I voted yes for this crap though I wasn't entirely sure why Katniss did, I put my lot in with her because I already knew she wouldn't have if she didn't have some plan. And she sort of does, but it doesn't make this any easier. I'm sure the cameras will be on us as soon as Coin blames us Victors all lined up in a row nearest to the stage like cows for slaughter, waiting for the reactions. I can't have them thinking I'm angry if any semblance of our plan is going to work. Some probably still hate me enough for that wedding crap even though I was blackmailed to do it as it is, I can't have them affecting me more.

"All of you know the horrors of the Hunger Games, some of you have even had family or friends reaped. These remaining Victors know the horrors as well of what President Snow and the Capitol put them through, they know it well. And so Panem, these Victors have decided that-" Coin begins, but she is uncharacteristically distracted by something else and stops speaking, a confused expression gracing her usual emotionless face. I hear gasps and screams from the back of the assembly, and my head turns to see what the commotion is.

To my utter surprise, it's Rory of all people, running like a madman through the crowd with a gun in hand and a crazed look in his eyes. Though I have no idea what's going on, I'm relieved to see he's alright whether he's been manipulated by Coin or not, even though he left Katniss and I with practically nothing back at Effie's. Because he's still my little brother.

"Rory!" I call to him, but he doesn't even look my way.

"This is wrong! Look at what has happened to us!" Rory yells though if it's at the crowd or Coin I'm not sure because he's looking at her. No one seems to know what to do, and before anyone can react he's fired his gun, barely missing Coin in the head. What the fuck is going on? "Snow is a much better leader than you!"

What?

Screams can be heard and shouts that Rory has tried to assassinate the President, and before I can even react Coin's personal squad has leveled their guns right at Rory. He shoots at a few of them, but there's too many and he's shot several times, falling to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

I feel like I've been shot myself, I can't even breathe. My brother just died trying to assassinate Coin. Kennie is shrieking in horror at her uncle on the ground and the room is in complete chaos. I pull Kennie to me without looking down and she buries her face in my stomach, not wanting to see or hear anymore of this complete madness.

"Calm down, please!" Coin orders the crowd, apparently recovering from her near death. The place is still a madhouse though, and I feel like I'm going to pass out. And yet, I have an intense anger for Coin. Her soldiers killed my brother, her own manipulated toy who apparently has now been manipulated by Snow. She's the one that needs to be in a pile of her own blood, not him. If I only had any weapon at all, I would be killing her right now myself.

I hear a shot fired from somewhere near me and almost as if my wish was heard aloud, Coin crumbles to the ground with a bullet in her chest and I turn in shock.

Because there's Katniss of all people with a gun in her hands, an emotionless look on her face. All I can do is stare in shock, but I can't help being immensely proud of her.

There's commotion on stage, but most of the crowd is simply looking at Katniss in complete shock like I am, no one seeming to know what to do. Katniss apparently takes this as her cue to speak.

"Coin is no better than Snow. She has plans for more Hunger Games, more starvation and horror for all of us! If you think a new dictator is what we needed, then you are not right in your head! Please, I promise if you just look at her plans, anything at all, you will find we need a real leader! Not more sorrow or horror!" she shouts to the crowd, dropping the gun so she is now defenseless.

"She's right. I know of Coin's plans and she's even worse than Snow. She had me watched and I wasn't allowed to do practically anything during this war because she was scared that I knew her secrets." Finnick adds.

But the peacekeepers don't seem to care, as they take a struggling Katniss into their grasp.

"Katniss!" I whisper, but she shakes her head.

"I'm fine. Take care of Kennie. I'll be fine." She promises, but I don't understand why she's so calm as they take her away. I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to find Beetee.

"Look Gale." He says quietly, pointing towards the stage. I look to find that he has in fact put the video of Coin and Penny's conversation about the plans Coin has, pictures of documents and writings and blueprints. The crowd can only watch, the squads too, most in shock. They all see the evidence and know that Coin was wrong.

No wonder Katniss wasn't as worried. Maybe we can actually pull this off anyway. It was our plan anyway, right? One dictator down, one to go.

"Snow's dead!" a cry comes from somewhere, and more shock goes through the crowd. What?

Make that two dictators down and leadership for Panem up for grabs. I don't even care who killed him, I'm just glad that the two worst siblings in Panem are gone.

A new world can finally come to Panem. We can finally live safely and in peace.


	43. Epilogue

Five years later

Gale's POV

"Happy twelfth birthday, Kennie!" a chorus comes from the room as my beautiful daughter glows in the candlelight from her birthday cake, overjoyed. If the world was how it still was just five years ago, I would have dreaded this birthday more than any other. At twelve years old, she would have been in her first year eligible for the reaping. Thank god that is no more, and Panem is a new place now with no Hunger Games.

The Capitol was in chaos after Katniss shot Coin at that assembly, no one exactly knowing what to do. They locked her up in the training center and decided on a trial for her, to see what to do since she did assassinate the President after all. And the Capitol was also in chaos from Snow's death as well, leaving Panem with no obvious leader. No one actually knows who shot and killed Snow, but I have my suspicions. Penny, now with a natural blonde hairstyle didn't appear until the day after Coin was killed, and she avoided any conversation about Snow like the plague. But I didn't begrudge her killing Snow if she did; actually, I might have applauded her. He did so much to everyone including her, and now she can try to blend in and be a normal human being now. It will be good for her. Besides, I had Katniss to worry about anyway.

No matter how much I tried they refused to let me see Katniss, and let me tell you, I tried everything I could think of. But Captain Weever from District 4 who was on the jury of her trial told me with a wink after days of trying that there was no need to worry. It didn't help much, but I figured everything was going to be alright if he was assuring me of that so I focused all my energy on keeping Kennie busy so she wouldn't know what was going on, why her mommy wasn't with us at the moment. Being her of course she asked questions, but Finnick was good at distracting her and he provided many reasons for me not to answer.

Two weeks later her trial was over and basically all they did was tell her to go back to District 12, which is what we planned on doing anyway. And so she, Kennie, Haymitch and I all went back there to rebuild and live our lives, free from the oppression of the Capitol and any dictators. We were assured of this by the new President Weever himself.

And so that's where we've been ever since, moving into a new home in Victor's Village since ours was destroyed. Prim, devastated by Rory and her mother's deaths, came back heavily pregnant and threw herself into being the resident doctor for the district until she gave birth to her son, but even then she still spent a majority of her time in the hospital helping others like she always loved doing.

Madge, also a widow now, finally came back to the district to live after all these years with her four children. It was stressful for her to have all those kids so young to raise all by herself, but luckily her mother decided to be involved in her grandchildren's lives like she never had with Madge, and she lived with them. Mr. Mellark also came back to the district though he had no blood relatives here aside from his grandchildren, so he rebuilt the bakery and helped out Madge when he could. We still bring him squirrels every now and then, and just like in the past he's always grateful for them.

"Remember Kennie, you have to save the biggest piece for me." Finnick warns her with a goofy smile to which she giggles back. Mason Odair, Finnick and Annie's four year old son, nods and adds that he wants a big piece too. Mason looks nothing like Johanna of course, but Finnick was so close to her and felt so devastated and somehow responsible for her death that no one was surprised at their son's name when he was born months after the war ended in District 4. To be honest, Johanna would probably roll her eyes at it if she were here but secretly like it. We all still miss her, but we all lost so much that the losses make us closer. It brings us together, like today with all of us here.

Katniss kisses Kennie's head before taking the cake away as I turn on the lights, and I follow her into the kitchen to help her cut up the cake and divide it up while watching the table where everyone is still gathered around talking. Kennie's younger siblings, the three year old twins, are trying desperately to get her attention at the same time and she giggles as she doesn't know what to do. I have to smile at the whole scene because I never imagined my life could be here after everything that happened to me. Especially after being reaped, never would I have thought this could happen.

"What are you smiling about?" Katniss asks, amused by my joy. As an answer, I kiss her lightly as she melts into the kiss before pulling back, the stupid grin back on my face.

"Just thinking that this day could have been very different." I reply, and she immediately understands my meaning. There's no Hunger Games, no appointments or dictators or anything. No requests from Snow or threats over our heads about having more children or anything. We're happy and safe, a life we certainly had to work for so that our children could live that life forever. Kennie may very well remember those bad times, especially the arena and the war, but our other kids have grown up in this world and are as innocent to that as anyone can be. I prefer it that way and Katniss does too.

"It could, but we changed it." She replies.

"For them." I add, and she nods because it's true. It is for them, it always was and always will be. A new world for them.


End file.
